You’ve got to hand it to Michael O’ Leary and Ryanair there’s hardly a money making gimmick the budget airline hasn’t come up with and now gambling is set to flourish in the skies.

According to reports by the UK’s Sunday Mirror newspaper the hugely successful Irish airline could be offering in-flight gambling as early as next year from online gambling group 888.com.

Rumoured for some time, airlines could make in-flight gambling available on long-haul flights by complying with new and more liberal UK gambling regulations.

Passengers would be able to log on to the Internet and stake cash on games including poker, blackjack and roulette.

Passengers would be able to use in-flight television screens to access 888.com and, after selecting an option on the screen, use a credit card to place bets.

'This will attract more players in more places every day,' said Gigi Levy, Chief Executive Officer for 888.com.

British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific have also signed up to the scheme and others are expected to follow. The British problem gambling charity GamCare has urged 888.com to introduce caps on the amount people can bet along with the time they spend on games.

In November last year Ryanair announced its online gaming partnership with online bingo operator Jackpotjoy. Passengers booking flights on the airline’s website were offered the option of trying their hand at bingo.

At the time CEO Michael O’ Leary said “Finding a cheap flight with us is a racing certainty and now our passengers will have the chance to enjoy a flutter on Ryanair bingo and instant win with just some of the money they have saved. We are delighted to have agreed this new deal and expect it to assist us in offering the lowest fares of any airline in Europe by some margin.”

At the moment Ryanair are remaining tight lipped about the prospect of mile high gambling but it’s understood the barriers have been cleared for them to proceed.

It’s yet another audacious move by the airline but trying to make money off fringe services and tariffs is what Ryanair are all about.

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