Exclusive: PKR to launch 3D casino by year-end
PKR plans to launch a fully fledged 3D casino to match its flagship 3D poker product by the end of the year, EGRmagazine.com can reveal exclusively...
PKR PLANS to launch a fully fledged 3D casino by the end of the year, EGRmagazine.com can reveal exclusively.
Speaking in an interview to feature in the forthcoming issue of eGaming Review, PKR chief executive Malcolm Graham said the company will introduce a suite of casino games in a bid to build on the success of its flagship 3D poker product, which has grown at an average of one million players a year since its launch 2006.
Graham said: “My hypothesis is that there’s an opportunity to leverage a richer visual experience on the table side, hence what we’re doing. At the moment it’s somewhere between 2D and 3D. There are limitations to the movie-esque table experience, which we’re hopeful we can take to another level.
“We’re in the process of rolling out 3D casino games, which included launching 3D roulette [pictured] in December. It will be the best roulette product in the market [and] we’ll then be adding table games to that.”
The company plans to add blackjack in July, casino hold ’em in September and Caribbean stud and baccarat in November. It will look to third parties to provide slots. French land-based casino company Lucien Barrière led the way in the space when its online arm Barrière Interactive Gaming launched LeCroupier.com early last year.
Commenting on mixed reviews of existing 3D casino experiences, Graham said that the successful uptake of 3D is dependent on factors such as “world class CRM, payment processing and tournament offerings”, which he believes PKR offers.
PKR will also seek to translate social elements used by the poker product such as offline meet-ups to the more individual experience of casino, Graham revealed.
“As the online demographic broadens it will attract people who want to chat at the table. But we’re not going to force it down their throats,” he said.
The casino product will be added a part of a programme of improvements over the next 12-18 months that will also include improving PKR’s poker offering to add multi-table functionality and the ability to access the table more quickly.
“It’s now three and a half years’ old, so there’s lots we can do on the poker and CRM side,” Graham said.
Malcolm Graham was speaking to eGaming Review exclusively for a feature on the future of online casinos which will appear in the March issue of the magazine. Click here for a free trial.