[toc]Station Casinos is venturing into the mobile and social casino gaming industry through a new alliance with GAN (previously known as GameAccount Network). This collaboration will introduce StationPlay in Nevada, marking GAN’s second partnership in the Silver State.
Station play joins growing casino-owned social games market
StationPlay enters a market dominated by MyVegas, operated by MGM, and the market leader, Caesars Casino. Both of these sites leverage the customer loyalty programs of their respective physical casinos, enabling players of their social games to earn reward credits that can be used on their premises.
Stations will adopt comparable business models where points garnered from games can be synchronized with the player’s Boarding Pass, which is the loyalty program of Stations.
“When the new site was announced, Staci Alonso, the Executive Vice President of Innovation and Administration at Station Casinos, said, “StationPlay will enable us to offer another fantastic perk to our Boarding Pass members. It will give them the ability to earn Boarding Pass points via a personalized, free-play social gaming experience, whether they are at home or on the go.”
The growth of the social gaming industry persists and these sites assist casinos in maintaining contact with their customers even when they are not physically present.
GAN already partners with Stratosphere on social casino
In 2015, GAN made its first entry into the Nevada market by forming a partnership with American Casino Entertainment Partners (ACEP). ACEP owns four properties in Nevada, including the Stratosphere.
The portfolio of GAN features a vast collection of themed slot games due to collaborations with companies such as Bally, Scientific Games, IGT, and Konami, among others. Besides its extensive range of slot games, GAN also offers table games including blackjack, backgammon, solitaire, and various bingo games.
Social games industry continues to boom
A 2015 Transparency Market Research report estimated the value of the social games industry at $5.4 billion in 2012, and projected it could reach a worth of $17.4 billion in 2019.
Stations may be a late entrant in terms of market saturation, but the online casino industry appears to be one where the fluidity of the customer base supports the presence of numerous competitors.
In 2013, the Stations properties made their first venture into online gaming with the launch of Ultimate Poker. They were pioneers in the Nevada regulated online poker market but ceased operations after 19 months. Currently, the primary operator of real money online poker in the Silver State is WSOP.com, owned by Caesars Entertainment.
Recently, Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) sold its social games division, Playtika, for a staggering $4 billion. CIE still operates Caesars Casino, a game developed by Playtika, on Facebook, which has more than 6 million likes.
Image courtesy of Rosa Say, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
