IGT Focuses On Social Gaming For The Time Being

This story was published more than 11 years ago.

During an interview with social media publicatino "Inside Social Games" IGT's Vice President For Emerging Business Robert Melendres said that his company is waiting to get into real money internet gambling due to American uncertainty with the issue.

Speaking to the publication Melendres said: ”Right now we’re very much focused on taking social gaming product and driving that very, very hard as a way of helping our casino properties leverage online gaming.”

“From IGT’s perspective, real-money gaming is ours for the taking … IGT is one of the very few companies that’s been on both sides so we’ve been able to see what happens in the real currency world and social gaming side."

IGT, the Las Vegas gambling giant bought social wagering specialists Double Down Interactive earlier this year for almost $500 million.

Melendres also stated that Double Down's Partnership Program with land casinos allows for boosts to both types of businesses by allowing IGT to stay connected to game players, creates an incentive for customers to come back to the actual casino, and provides a revenue boost thanks to revenue sharing.

”The beauty of what we’re doing right now is that I truly believe the DoubleDown Partner Program is a superior offering to the poker program,” he said.

Speaking about the conversion rates to get free players to turn into pay players, Melendres said that the market is really not so dissimilar from the early days of internet gambling, suggesting that the market could eventually grow.

“We want to be responsive to the marketplace. Right now we’re focused on developing the DoubleDown brand and will continue to leverage that." Melendres concluded.