Amaya Gaming announced Monday that it has a signed a memorandum of understanding with Bally Technologies to integrate Amaya’s Ongame poker platform as well as its suite of casino games into Bally’s iGaming Platform. The agreement will allow Bally’s to continue on the path to launching an intrastate online poker site in Nevada.
Bally Technologies was the first company to receive an online gaming license in Nevada, the same day as rival International Game Technology, back in June 2012. While Bally had the backend systems and the gaming experience to likely make it a good online poker licensee, it never had the software with which to offer an actual poker product. Enter Amaya Gaming, providing the Ongame poker platform for Bally to use in its partnerships with land-based casinos.
Ongame will be Bally’s “preferred poker provider,” meaning that Bally’s is not handcuffed to Ongame. If Bally’s wants to partner with another poker software firm and offer multiple products, it is free to do so.
In September 2012, Bally Technologies struck a deal with American Casino and Entertainment Properties, LLC (ACEP), to provide it with an online poker platform. ACEP is the parent company of the iconic Stratosphere casino, located on the extreme north end of the Las Vegas strip. ACEP also owns the Aquarius Casino Resort in Laughlin, Nevada and two Arizona Charlie’s casinos in Las Vegas.
Coincidentally (though likely not), ACEP launched a new free-to-play online poker in the United States Tuesday using the Ongame poker platform. “acePLAY Poker” is play chip only, though real Stratosphere-related prizes are available to be won.
ACEP was one of three licensed companies to be given a six month extension by the Nevada Gaming Control Board last week to continue testing their software. Of course, it now appears that ACEP did not actually have software at the time, but likely knew that its partner, Bally Technologies, was close to inking the deal with Amaya Gaming.
“We are delighted to add Bally as a partner in the US Market,” said Darcy Krogh, VP Business Development of Amaya Gaming Group, in a press release, “They are an established global brand with great customer reach in the land based gaming industry. The combination of Bally and Amaya should provide casino operators and their players many benefits of a strong strategic alliance, bringing state of the art poker and casino content to the market.”
Bally Technologies’ Vice President of Business Development John Connelly also commented, saying:
Ongame is a world leader in the online poker space and we are excited to incorporate their best-in-class offering into the Bally iGaming platform. This relationship further validates the current transformation within the online gaming sector, which integrates traditional and online casino systems, allowing casino operators to protect their data, while offering their customers Best in Class content.