31 Mar 2016 07:00
GAN launches first B2B Virtual Reality Casino Application
Play selected Class III slots and table games in Virtual Reality
ISE: GAME LSE: GAME
London & Dublin | March 31, 2016: GameAccount Network plc (“GAN” or the “Company”), an award-winning developer and supplier of enterprise-level B2B Internet gaming software, services and online gaming content in the United States, announces it has launched a Virtual Reality (“VR”) Simulated Gaming application for GAN’s first continuing US client - New York’s Empire City Casino - compatible with suitable home personal computer’s (“PC”) and Facebook’s Oculus Rift VR headsets.
VR is an emerging platform for online entertainment with Facebook’s Oculus Rift VR headsets now shipping to consumers. GAN is positioned at the forefront of this emerging market, offering a unique VR experience to patrons of land-based US casino clients.
Download the Empire City Casino PC VR application direct from http://play.EmpireCityCasino.com.
Dermot Smurfit, CEO of GAN commented:
“Virtual reality has finally arrived and GAN is first-to-market in the US with a VR casino experience delivered to Empire City Casino in New York. Designed to engage, captivate and compel incremental time-on-device and revenue from patrons, GAN’s VR add-on module for Simulated Gaming is anticipated to attract the 30-54year old male gaming enthusiast, likely to be among the early adopters of PC VR.
Simulated Gaming now supports Desktop Web, Mobile Web, Mobile App and PC VR, reinforcing GAN’s technical leadership in delivering enterprise-grade Internet gaming solutions to the US casino Industry. Innovations like VR are just one of the many reasons ten major US casino operators have adopted Simulated Gaming, as an alternative to launching a traditional Social Casino.
Later this year, GAN will be bringing VR to life for real money Regulated Gaming in selected markets and with preferred operator clients. Playing authentic casino games in VR for real money will dramatically close the gap between the live gaming experience available on-property and the flat two-dimensional experience available at home on traditional personal computer or mobile devices.
Dismissing consumer VR is naïve – technology investors poured nearly two billion dollars into the AR/VR space last year alone and last month 15,000 units of the $800 HTC Vive VR headset were sold online in the first 10 minutes1. There’s a movement afoot, originating from Facebook’s 2014 $2bn acquisition of Oculus, suggesting VR could be the next major Internet platform. GAN together with its US casino operator clients are positioned to materially benefit in the event forecasts for VR headset sales meet reality in the current business cycle.”
Highlights
US casino patrons playing online with New York’s Empire City Casino can now download, install and experience the Empire City VR Casino, bringing Simulated Gaming and selected Class III slot machine games to life in VR. GAN has the unique GameSTACK™ technical platform for Internet gaming, which has enabled GAN to deliver a compelling Simulated Gaming experience in VR for GAN’s land-based US casino clients seeking to engage with new patron demographics. PC VR market worldwide forecast to be worth $3.5bn in 2016 with an estimated 6.6m PC VR headsets purchased by consumers by year-end (source: SuperData Research). Play authentic US-recognisable Class III slot machines online in VR from Incredible Technologies, including Crazy Money®, Medusa: The Quest of Perseus®, Leonidas: King of the Spartans® and Neon City Casino® together with GAN’s multi-hand blackjack, DEQ’s EZ Baccarat® and two additional slot titles from Slots Symphony™. Explore inter-connected VR environments including the main casino gaming floor, ancient Egypt and mystical China. Uncover games and real world bonuses hidden within VR environment. Experience Class III slot games in VR on floor-to-ceiling VR screens, delivering a superior large-screen experience when compared against smaller home PC monitors and mobile devices. GAN anticipates bringing this VR experience to players of real money Regulated Gaming in H2 2016, subject to certain third party commercial consents and regulatory consent. The Simulated Gaming™ VR experience is in beta test, with more features rolling out throughout 2016 including HTC Vive support, Oculus Touch support, additional meta-game social casino gameplay features and more high-quality Class III slot games from GAN’s participating casino equipment manufacturer partners. Simulated Gaming™ is an innovative Internet gaming service designed by GAN specifically for land-based US casinos, offering a gaming-as-entertainment experience across web, mobile and VR together offering over 200 casino slot and table games, including poker, backgammon, gin rummy, poker dice and blackjack tournaments.FAQ’s about GAN’s Simulated Gaming™
Launched in the US by GAN in January 2014, Simulated Gaming™ has proven to monetize Internet traffic to existing websites operated by land-based US casinos with average revenue per daily active user (ARPDAU) of $2.75 in 2014 and $2.82 in H1 2015, as against an original estimate of $0.60, greatly exceeding equivalent numbers reported by Social Casino operators on Facebook. Supported by 68 months of operating data across six (6) major US casinos’ deployments, Simulated Gaming™ is now proven to drive increased visitation on-property and in 2014 delivered on average a 28% uplift in on-property theoretical win from increased visitation by existing patrons who also engage with Simulated Gaming™ online. US casino operators report up to 50% of their surveyed casino patrons are already engaged in playing Social Casinos on Facebook. Simulated Gaming™ enables land-based US casinos access to the Social Casino market worth $3.3 billion annually worldwide in 2015 (source: Eilers & Krejcik Gaming, LLC) and is proven to increase property visitation among existing patrons, reactivate lapsed patrons bringing them back on-property and drive acquisition of new patrons from outside the typical drive distance to the property.www.GAN.com
For further information please contact:
| GAN | FTI Consulting | |||
| Dermot Smurfit | Mark Kenny/Jonathan Neilan/Melanie Farrell | |||
| Chief Executive Officer | ||||
| +44 (0) 20 7292 6262 | +353 1 6633686 | |||
| dsmurfit@GAN.com | gameaccount@fticonsulting.com | |||
| Davy | ||||
| John Frain / Roland French | ||||
| +353 1 679 6363 |
GAN | Overview
GAN is a leading developer and supplier of enterprise-level Business to Business gaming software systems and online gaming content. GAN is listed on the ESM Market of the Irish Stock Exchange and the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker: GAME
The Company has developed an Internet gaming enterprise software system, GameSTACK™, which it licences to online and land-based gaming operators as a turn-key technology solution for both regulated real-money and simulated online gaming. The Internet Gaming System, developed in London under a UK Gaming Commission licence, is certified to the highest technical standards currently required by gaming regulators.
GAN is also a leading developer of proprietary online games with a complementary business converting offline casino slot machines and table games into online equivalents on behalf of major land-based slot machine manufacturers including Aristocrat, Konami, Multimedia Games, Incredible Technologies, GamoMat, Reel Time Gaming, High Flyer Games, DEQ Systems Corp (EZ BACCARAT®) and Ainsworth.
GAN has an established business in Europe, licensing gaming content to UK, Spanish and Italian gaming operators including Bet365, William Hill, Rank, Lottomatica, Sisal MatchPoint and SNAI.
In the United States, GAN has partnered with Betfair Plc to provide its Internet Gaming System following the introduction of regulated real-money online gaming in New Jersey in November 2013. In New York, GAN has launched a Simulated Gaming™ website via www.EmpireCityCasino.com in September 2014. In Pennsylvania, GAN launched a Simulated Gaming™ website www.ParxOnline.com in March 2015 with on-property real money mobile gaming anticipated in 2015. In March 2015 Maryland Live! Casino in Maryland chose GAN to upgrade their existing free-to-play website to a monetized Simulated Gaming™ website, soft-launched in July 2015 and launched integrated with their casino management system in November 2015. In September 2015 major Californian Tribal casino operator San Manuel chose GAN’s Simulated Gaming™ launched in November 2015. In October 2015 American Casino & Entertainment Properties (ACEP) chose GAN’s Simulated Gaming™ launched in December 2015. In December 2015 Borgata Casino Hotel & Spa chose GAN’s Simulated Gaming™ launching in H1 2016. Also in December 2015 Lady Luck Interactive, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Isle of Capri Corporation, chose GAN’s Simulated Gaming™ launching in H1 2016. In February 2016 Rock Gaming (re-branded as Jack Entertainment) chose GAN’s Simulated Gaming™ to support their Ohio-based casino properties launching online in H1 2016. In March 2016 an undisclosed major casino operator in the North East chose GAN’s Simulated Gaming™ launching in H2 2016.
In March 2016 GAN launched its first virtual reality (VR) Simulated Gaming application containing authentic Class III slot machines compatible with Oculus Rift VR headsets and available to download from New York’s Empire City Casino Simulated Gaming desktop website located at http://play.EmpireCityCasino.com.
1 Source: http://venturebeat.com/2016/02/29/htc-sold-15000-800-vive-virtual-reality-headsets-in-10-minutes/
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