Double Down signs land-based casino partnership

IGT-owned social game developer Double Down Interactive has signed its first land-based partnership with Casino Del Sol Resort in Arizona.

From next week, Casino Del Sol Resort in Tucson will embed the Double Down Casino app onto its customer-facing website in exchange for a share of revenue. The casino is the first of many planned partners that will feature the app on their websites, IGT said in a statement.

IGT acquired Double Down Interactive for up to US$500m in January. The social game developer’s flagship casino app is one of the largest gambling-related apps on Facebook.

Roy Corby, COO of Casino Del Sol Resort, said: “Casino Del Sol Resort is proud to be the first land-based casino to offer Double Down games. The casino gaming landscape is changing every day, so it’s vital that our offerings evolve to ensure guests’ experiences are nothing less than extraordinary.”

The deal follows several other land-based casinos which have launched free play poker and casino sites ahead of real-money regulation.

Last year GTECH G2 signed a play-for-fun poker deal with Californina tribes Barona and Seneca, while a similar partnership between SciPlay and the Californian Online Poker Association (COPA) was announced in June 2011.

Since then both the Maryland Live! Casino and the Golden Nugget casino in Las Vegas have launched free-play sites, powered by Aristocrat Technologies and Bally respectively.