Carey DiJulio, GM of Big Fish Games‘ Big Fish Casino, which recently inked a deal with Betable to offer real-money versions of its social casino games, told Social Casino Intelligence that “real-money betting was a way of enhancing the experience for our players, and helping create the experience of playing in a real casino.” DiJulio said Big Fish had chosen Betable’s bolt-on backend for its “very easy integration process” and was right chuffed to be positioned to take advantage of “a time when the traditional gaming and real-money gambling markets are beginning to converge.”
Further evidence of that convergence comes via the launch of Trophy Vegas, the real-money version of Facebook social casino app Trophy Slots, on the Isle of Man-licensed Cash Ball Network. Trophy Vegas offers games from Microgaming, Next Gen Gaming and NYX to players in jurisdictions in which such real-money activity won’t result in jackbooted law enforcement types kicking your door down. Cash Ball marketing maven Louise Cary said her outfit’s “proprietary monetization and marketing platform” offered a “unique opportunity” to meld two revenue streams “while maximizing player value and satisfaction across both channels.”
Convergence is moving in reverse over at DoubleDown Casino, the social gaming offshoot of gaming device maker International Game Technology. DoubleDown has just released the free-play mobile version of IGT’s popular Cleopatra slot for iOS, Android and Amazon’s Kindle Fire. It’s the second of IGT’s land-based slot titles to make the jump to DoubleDown’s mobile offering following September’s Da Vinci Diamonds release.
There are a few social gaming products in which the monetary rewards are purely virtual, such as Gamblino, the iOS app scheduled for release Nov. 30. Co-founder Frank Wilson said the idea for Gamblino came about “because there was no viable application out there that allowed friends to place and track friendly bets with each other.” True, if you discount this one, or these ones, or these. But Gamblino differentiates itself in that it offers the chance to play in participating sports bars, with the best player in each bar on a given NFL or NCAA football Sunday or Saturday earning free drinks or food (which is almost as good as real-money). Interested proprietors are invited to sign up for the service at Gamblino.com.
Finally, popular Xbox Live Arcade title Poker Smash has gone mobile. For the uninitiated, the game is essentially Tetris with playing cards in lieu of building blocks, and the rows are eliminated when the cards line up to make various poker hands. The app is currently available on the iOS platform, and developer Void Star Creations is cagey about when an Android version may arrive.
