IGT enters deal with CA technology; Shuffle Master prefers joint ventures; Betfred Casino winner Britain’s biggest

IGT Shufflemaster BetFred

IGT Shufflemaster BetFredGaming machine manufacturers International Game Technology has entered a deal with IT management software company CA Technologies, it was announced today. The agreement has seen IGT select the CA AppLogic turnkey cloud computing platform for delivering its casino software.

A company statement said that by collaborating with CA Technologies on its new IGT Cloud, IGT is “transforming the gaming industry” by “empowering casino operators to provide seamless gaming experiences” across land-based, mobile, and online devices.

Chris Satchell, IGT’s CTO, said: “Thanks to the simplicity and power of the CA AppLogic platform, IGT is able accelerate providing cloud solutions to casino operators, allowing them to focus on their customers rather than their infrastructure.”

The CA AppLogic platform enables IGT to deploy software via a cloud-based service model and remove architectural boundaries introduced by traditional virtualisation technologies.

 

With record breaking Q4 results, Casino equipment maker Shuffle Master has maintained it is always on the lookout for acquisitions of game or technology companies, but in a report by MacauBusiness, the company’s chief executive Gavin Isaacs said in an interview the company prefers to make joint ventures.

Speaking with GamblingCompliance during last month’s ICE Totally Gaming conference in London, Isaacs said the Las Vegas-based company has the ability to buy companies, due to its small amount of debt ($17 million) and U$200 million in borrowing capacity.

“We buy games, we buy intellectual property all the time; that’s our strategy,” he said.

He added it’s unlikely to spend a large sum of money in one big transaction, stating joint ventures are more probable – especially in Europe.

Word on the street is that Shuffle Master is currently talking to Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment about buying the UK-listed company’s Ongame poker network for a sum of $20 million. However, no official sources have confirmed the rumour.

 

After the recent closure of its betting shops around the country, Betfred’s Casino site – Befred Casino,  has announced some good news today. One of its jammy jackpot winning customers has become the biggest online progressive winner in UK history after scooping a £5.1million jackpot on the Beach Life slot game.

The company confirmed today that the lucky son of a gun won the sickening amount of millions from a £1 stake. After securing £250 from £1 spins on Betfred Casino’s King Kong slot, the winner apparently headed over for a bash on Beach Life. Six spins later they were creaming their panties with jubilation as they hit the monster jackpot.

The player’s win was the biggest in the UK ona progressive jackpot and the third biggest in the world. Shortly after their win, the victor was flown out on a private jet to meet Betfred.com founder Fred Done to be presented with the cheque.