The mobile gaming industry is set to rake in cash, as the industry’s revenue is projected to hit $4.5 billion in 2008, a 16.1 percent growth from 2007 revenue of $3.9 billion, revealed the IT research and advisory firm Gartner.

According to the study commissioned by Gartner, the revenue generated from gaming will still continue to fall behind other value-added entertainment services like music and adult content.

Gartner maintains the market is still very promising, as it anticipated its revenues to see a compound annual growth rate of 10.2 percent between 2007 and 2011, with worldwide end-user spending topping $6.3 billion by 2011.

The study further said the Asia/Pacific market (including Japan) represents the biggest target for mobile gaming, with end-user spending expected to reach $2.3 billion in 2008 and hit $3.4 billion by 2011 thanks in large part to low PC penetration throughout that area of the globe.

India alone is expected to generate mobile gaming revenues of $450 million by 2012. While the Western Europe market is expected to increase from $701 million in 2008 to $862 million by 2011, mobile gaming in North America is projected to grow from $845 million to $1.2 billion in 2011.