iNOS – Mobile Betting Game with M-commerce Functionality

The Football World Cup 2000 was around the corner and iNOS. a Tokyo based organization wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to launch its mobile version of ‘Pachinko’ – usually the gambling halls in Japan. To ‘cash on’ this opportunity, iNOS partnered with DevelopmentIndiato develop the application. We developed the application over a secure micro-payment system. The game implements m-commerce functionality over i-mode mobile phones with high-end security features.

Customer Profile
iNOS is a Tokyo based organization that was formulated to capitalize on the Japanese betting market during Football World Cup 2000.

Business Requirement
Gambling is a popular activity in Japan and iNOS wanted to tap this market during the Football World Cup 2000. In this effort, iNOS wanted to develop an online betting game that would be available on i-mode mobile phones.

Solution

Benefits
 Spontaneous access
 Secure online payments through m-commerce implementations
 Catchy & lively interface
Technologies Used
 JSP Servlet
 J2ME (for developing the interface with I-appli for I-mode phones)
 MySQL
 JDBC

Requirements

Japan is the second largest economy in the world, with a large market for gambling. With more than 20,000 Pachinko halls or gambling parlors, Japan offers large prospects for businesses dealing with gambling. iNOS wanted to exploit this market during the World Cup fever. The idea was to launch a mobile-based soccer betting game. Pachinko – the online game application would allow users with i-Mode phones to access the game, play the bets, and make payments online through secure channels.

iNOS and DevelopmentIndia ventured for developing the solution and tap the opportunity to satisfy the betting nerves of football lovers.

M-Commerce Integration for Secure Online Payments
This project was a joint venture between iNOS and DevelopmentIndia. While iNOS conceived the idea, DevelopmentIndia developed the application, just before the World Cup fever took off. i-Mode mobile phone users could play Pachinko during daytime. They could also buy World Cup memorabilia such as, T-shirts, caps, and badges through the application. Implementing the online payment functionality, however, was the challenging part. With no pre-defined standards for making secure online payments through mobile devices, we developed a micro-payment solution, for the same. To play the game, a ‘Wallet’ had to be created with iNOS, for a fixed amount. This was a one-time activity, after which a unique login ID was created for making online payments through secure channels. When a bet was won, the due amount was transferred to the bank account and the winner can check the balance amount to confirm the transfer. The application was developed specifically for I-mode phones (a popular Japanese mobile standard – such as GSM or CDMA-WLL in India) and the front-end interface was developed using i-appli. i-appli is a Java-based service, which allows I-mode users to access & use Pachinko, providing high-end graphics and simple to use interface. Registered users could login to the application and bet on the team, scores or players of their choice. On the backend, JSP was used to communicate with the MySQL database to authenticate user information and access data. To manage transactions, a Web-based administrator module was developed. This module monitored and managed users and their transactions. Developed on n-tier architecture, the application allows scalable manageability and speedy access. The architectural design for the application is displayed below.