Bridging the gap between cyberspace and
the bricks-and-sticks world, Innovative Gaming Corp. of America is networking on
the casino floor.
The Las Vegas firm, contracting with
GET Systems of Australia, has developed a “wide area progressive
platform’’ that produces remote jackpots.
“We take a game and link it
throughout the casino using PC
technology,’’ President Laus Abdo told GamingToday. “Why
have 2,000 separate computers (in slots) when you can do it all from one central
server?”
That question has been asked at Station
Casinos, which last year came up with its GameCast product for in-room gaming.
Station’s proposal is awaiting approval from state regulators,
and Abdo says IGCA’s technology is poised to follow suit.
“We’re ready to roll. The GET
platform has been validated in Australia,’’ he reports.
Abdo says casinos will inevitably
gravitate to network-based games for two key reasons: savings and flexibility. He estimates that a server-based system can cut hardware costs by as
much as 30 percent, and he points out that the games can be modified
“on the fly.”
“Say Chinese New Year or Cinco de
Mayo is coming up. You can change out an entire floor with the flip of a
switch,’’ he says of software
conversions.
This portable technology, analysts add,
can also serve as a proving ground for Internet wagering ”” since it applies
the same principles of remote, server-based gaming.
If there’s one question, it’s been
about IGCA’s financials. State regulators put the company’s public offering
on hold in February, and the firm’s stock has struggled. But Abdo, who also
serves as chief financial officer, told GamingToday that IGCA
posted positive cash flow in March and is expanding its market capitalization.
“There’s been a major turnaround.
This company was about to go bankrupt, so we downsized and refocused,” Abdo said. After losing $15 million
last year, IGCA is projecting $17.8 million in revenue and
$1.8 million net earnings for 2002.
Sales
are up 300 percent since September
11, and the company expects to issue four to five new titles every quarter, he
said.
Through its pending merger with GET,
IGCA has sharply increased its library of games and positioned itself to compete
in Internet and lottery markets. GET is considered a leading developer of gaming
systems. Unlike many other providers of Internet casino operating software, GET
has never permitted its licenses to accept wagers from the United States or any
other jurisdiction that bars Internet gaming.
