Hello!
Game of the Week #15 is Big Fish Casino, a gambling game for Facebook, iOS, Google Play, and the Amazon Appstore.
It was created by Big Fish Games, and is available worldwide. It has received a lot of press because since last week, if you’re playing on iOS in the UK, you can play for real money. I’m going to focus on the UK iOS version in this email.
How does it work?
Gamble to win virtual and real cash! When you open Big Fish Casino, you can choose from a set of familiar gambling games: slots, poker, blackjack, and roulette. There are several tables / machines available for each game type, each with a different minimum bet. You can place bets using chips, the in-game currency. All of the games bar one (described below) is free to play, and pays out chips when you win.
There are a handful of social features woven into the app. You can chat with the people playing on the same table as you. You can purchase gifts for them too, using your chips. And you can invite friends through Facebook, Twitter, email, or Apple’s Game Center.
(I bought Debbie a hat, she was very happy)
How does it make money?
Anyone anywhere can buy additional chips – extra in-game currency can be bought, just the same as in most freemium games. If you go into the slots section on the iOS app in the UK, you’ll see an extra machine available: Year of the Dragon. This one costs money to play (the minimum bet is just £0.01), and if you win, real money is added to your account. But just like your momma told you, the house always wins in the end.
Why is it particularly interesting?
This is the Game of the Week because it’s one of the first apps to allow real-money gambling. The gambling component is powered by Betable, a well-funded US-based start-up that has a gambling licence in the UK. Apple currently wants nothing to do with real-money gambling, so Big Fish Casino has a dual billing system: freemium purchases of coins are made through the normal in-app payment method (30% share to Apple), but real-money gambling payments go through Betable (50% share to Betable, no share for Apple).
Betable announced a new set of game developer partners last week. Deregulation of online gambling still seems a few years away in the US, but a number of companies are betting (ho ho!) that they can convert freemium gamblers into real-money gamblers – with a much higher lifetime value.
Check out the game, especially if you’re in the UK, and let me know what you think.
All best,
Todd
P.S. To get previous GOTWs, to suggest future ones, or to add or remove names from the mailing list, just send me a mail.