ICE day two news round up
The latest supplier and service provider news from day two of the 2015 ICE exhibition
CASINO NEWS
Microgaming has launched a new in-house agency designed to help land-based casinos launch online offerings. Pegasus Gaming Solutions (PGS) is a bespoke consultancy solution that can also be used by existing online casinos to improve results and put into place strategic development plans. PGS is headed by Microgaming’s former head of network games Lydia Barbara, who said there was a “real need” for a specialised agency to help bricks and mortar casinos launch online. “Online expansion isn’t a straight-forward task; it requires a particular skill set, one that doesn’t always exist in-house,” Barbara said.
Microgaming has also signed a deal with Spain-facing operator MGA to provide online slots and video bingo content through an integration with the Quickfire platform. The classic Spanish three reel slots are to be added later this year and Neill Whyte, head of product channels at Microgaming, said the timing of the deal was “perfect”. “It is perfect timing for us to be adding MGA’s content to the Quickfire platform with the impending regulation for online slots in Spain,” he said.
Casino supplier Net Entertainment unveiled a new branded slot based on the rock band Guns ‘n’ Roses at the conference yesterday afternoon. The slot has been created in co-operation with Universal Music Group and Geffen Records and will be the first music-themed game developed by the supplier. The title is due to be launched in Q4 2015 and will feature the bands’ hit singles including Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City and Sweet Child of Mine.
SPORTS BETTING NEWS
OpenBet has debuted its new omnichannel gaming solutions at the exhibition with the launch of a new ‘One Account. Endless Possibilities’ campaign. The solution provides a single view of a player’s online and offline activity with OpenBet’s Unify Card holding a customer’s online username password, profile and wallet details. “Multi-channel and convergence have been the gaming industry’s buzz words in recent years, but there are different schools of thought as to what this truly is,” Jeremy Thompson-Hill, chief executive at OpenBet, said. “Players don’t think in terms of channels and neither should we. They want a consistent, personalised experience regardless of device.
Sports betting and casino supplier BetConstruct has signed an agreement with fellow supplier iSoftBet. The deal will see iSoftBet’s Flash and HTML5-developed casino games made available on BetConstruct’s Spring platform, and new BetConstruct chief executive Vahe Baloulian said the deal would “open up excellent commercial opportunities for all”.
POKER NEWS
Online poker operator PKR.com has unveiled a new poker format as part of its multi-table tournament schedule. The $6 buy-in jackpot tournaments also include a progressive jackpot feature that pays out when a specific hand is dealt, with each day of the week having its own allocated hand. The progressive jackpot is funded by 20% of the tournament’s prize pool and PKR has guaranteed each jackpot at $1,000. “Some of the seven jackpots are more difficult to win than others of course, and we expect one or two to reach five or even six figures before they are won. For a tournament with a buy-in of just $6, that’s pretty exciting,” PKR head of PR Dan Grant said.