A value transfer solution for Bluetooth mobile gaming

Mobile gaming now forms a large part of the wireless industry. Although other business models have been conceived for operating a mobile games service profitably, most operators employ a ´pay for download´ model to deliver games to handsets. However, with the advent of local area mobile gaming, users can play together in a local area with Bluetooth to form a personal area network (PAN). This new kind of usage represents a challenge for content providers in regards to revenue generation. This paper describes a system whereby networked Bluetooth gamers can enhance their games with a ´pay to play´ element. With this system of value transfer between users within a Bluetooth PAN, novel game scenarios can be conceived whereby users can win credit for playing games.