Aristocrat, Bally, Shuffle Master and Ongame enter B2B partnership
Alliance designed to enhance suppliers' B2B product offerings and increase liquidity.
Gaming suppliers Bally and Aristocrat Technologies have entered into a partnership with Shuffle Master and online poker network Ongame, allowing the companies to pool poker content and liquidity.
The deal will see Ongame’s poker offering, which Shuffle Master agreed to acquire for 19.5m in March, available through Bally’s online platform, while Aristocrat will offer the Swedish provider’s poker content to its land-based casino customers as part of its suite of online games.
It follows a strategic alliance between Aristocra and Bally in March to combine online poker liquidity and share online slot content for the US market. The agreement sees the suppliers work together to procure shared third-party online poker providers, whose product can then be integrated into their respective egaming platforms.
Today’s announcement will see operator clients of Bally and Aristocrat able to select “best-in-class B2B” poker products, including Ongame’s, while maintaining control of their operations through proven gaming suppliers, Bally said in a statement.
John Connelly (pictured), Bally Technologies’ vice president of business development, said of the announcement: “Bally’s objective is to place the control in the hands of the operator. We are providing the necessary tools to have a single view of the player by incorporating existing and online gaming systems, while allowing operators to have the ability to cross-promote between traditional land-based and online consumers.”
Gavin Isaacs, Shuffle Master’s CEO, added: “We are confident that this relationship between Shuffle Master, Ongame, and Bally will create the opportunity for gaming operators to control their data, establish liquidity, and ensure their suppliers are truly committed to a B2B model.”
Last week Bally became the first company to be recommended by the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) for an online gambling licence in the Silver State. The licence would enable the company to provide online operations for licensed land-based casinos in Nevada to offer internet poker.
Aristocrat has also applied for a service provider licence in Nevada, although its application has yet to be discussed by the NGCB.