Gambling on the go: there’s an iphone app for that

Making your own iPhone app may be something that everybody has considered, but 22 year old Leeds Met student David Kanzen has taken the next step and created ‘The Great Contest’ – an App where loads of prizes can be won through skills related games.
David, a multi-media technology student was discussing iPhone applications with his friends earlier this year when he came across the idea of combining a luxury prize raffle with a skill based game, ‘Immediately a light bulb went off in my head, why not attempt to mass market this kind of idea?’
Creator David said, “Originally, it was going to be a raffle app, you see in airports where you can win a Ferrari. However, the idea had to be altered slightly to cater to UK and other countries gambling laws. We couldn’t just be a full on raffle, so the skill game element was added.”
Over the next few months, with a little help from his University tutor he began researching, speaking to possible sponsors and putting together a business plan.
After only two weeks on the market, ‘The Great Contest’ has been downloaded over 15,000 times, and claimed a place in the top 25 free arcade game apps.
Now, with the success of the app. the biggest problem David Kanzen is facing is getting in contact with his winners “the other week, one kid won a 3DTV and I had to spend an hour and a half convincing him to let me send it to him!”
‘The Great Contest’ isn’t the end of Kanzen’s ambition, he told Leeds Student Newspaper ‘I’d like to build this idea into a superpower. The app is being updated on a month to month basis, and we hope to keep growing.’