News Online Casino Gambling at 20,000 Feet 10 Oct 2004
So you've played at online casinos on the net that's nothing new. You may have even tried your luck at a land based casino. You have heard about people playing at an online casino via their mobile phone or palm pilot. But did you know that there are plans to provide online casino service in an airplane? Just when you thought there was nowhere left to play a few hands of poker that hadn't been thought of already, one company has come up with the idea to offer you the chance to gamble at 20,000 feet above the ground.
Michael OŽLeary, The chief executive of EuropeŽs highest priced airline, Ryanair, recently spoke about a vision he had for the future of his company, and some new standards that could be set for the industry he works in. O'Leary believes that a significant addition to services provided in the airline industry would be the addition of gambling facilities provided by independent gambling companies, on aircrafts for the service and amusement of the passengers on board.
Ryanair is already experimenting with a revolutionary new on-flight entertainment system known as digebox. OŽLeary says that he foresees in-flight gambling in the near future because it's entertaining and people need to be entertained on long flights that can often become boring. Simply put, O'Leary feels that the entertainment system is almost guaranteed to be successful and anyone that uses them on their airline service stands to profit from it.
Ryanair has already been approached with proposals from gaming companies in the past, including Irish company Paddy Power, that wants to develop a partnership that will allow passengers to gamble while on board. The digebox is about to be tested out and would accommodate the necessary gambling software. Passengers on the flight will be able to gamble using a credit card, so long as they were in international air space. OŽLeary envisions that the profits from the gambling system could be so high that it would drastically reduce the cost of the flight to the passengers and give them an incentive to fly with that airline.
