THE first integrated resort at Marina South is not due to be completed until next year, but would-be gamblers can already try their luck at a 'casino' - of sorts - here.

An Australian company is launching a mobile 'casino' service on Friday, which offers four kinds of games including baccarat, roulette, blackjack and poker.

For a fee starting from $350, you can have an authentic gaming table, complete with chips, delivered to your doorstep. The $350 pays for one table for up to six hours. If you pay a little more, you can even hire skilled croupiers to guide you in your game.

Called Casino Nights, the company brands itself as a casino consultancy which provides marketing and advertising services.

Managing director Simon Wheeler, 39, says of the mock casino, understood to be the first of its kind in Singapore: 'It adds spice to an event and everyone goes home happy without taking any real risks with money.'

He introduced the concept in Sydney in 2000 after coming across it in Britain, where it is said to be very popular.

Currently, 15 companies provide similar services in most cities in Australia for corporate events, weddings and birthday parties, he says and adds that there's no reason why it shouldn't take off here, too.

But in Singapore, the mobile casino service will be provided only as part of a marketing and advertising package, such as for product launches, and not for pure entertainment purposes.

Thus, none of the 'gambling' events would require a special licence to operate, according to Casino Nights' director Karen Kwek, 31.

'If the client wants to give prizes to participants in exchange for the chips at the end of the night, these prizes must be products from the company itself,' she notes.

The company has five croupiers and a floor manager, and they have been instructed to ensure that no real money exchanges hands.

Read the full report in LIFE! in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.