The gap between video gaming and gambling is closing, and it is closing fast.
GameCo, Inc., a pioneering company combining real money casino floor gambling with video games, founded in 2015, has raised $8,250,000 (USD) from numerous investors including Javelin Venture Partners, Courtside Ventures, QB1 Ventures, New York Angels and Steel Partners, for the introduction of what is being called the first skill-based video game gambling machines (VGMs).
With this capital, GameCo, Inc. plans to launch its initial VGMs across multiple casinos across Atlantic City in 2016, followed by more games in 2017 and beyond.
With the younger generation having been brought up on graphically advanced first-person shooter video games, such as Halo, Call of Duty, Half Life, Counter Strike, Battlefield, Far Cry, Doom, GoldenEye and many others, gaming software developing companies are now seeking to attract these GenX and Millennial gamers to the casino gaming floor with an engaging and exciting mix of real cash gambling and video games.
GameCo’s trademarked VGMs will be presented as an arcade-style gaming box with controller, similar to the classic Pac-Man, Space Invaders and Mortal Kombat video game sets, but modernised. Each VGM will be designed for single player gaming mode, and the game will last anywhere between 60-90 seconds.
GameCo, Inc. has worked with gaming console, PC and mobile developers to design the most engaging, authentic, immersive and interactive video gambling experience for its consumers.
Progressing rapidly from slot machines and video poker machines, it will be the players’ skill levels that help to determine the VGM’s payouts and winnings. This unrivaled video game casino experience will feature gaming genres such as action, adventure, fighting, sports, racing and casual.
GameCo, Inc. co-founder and CEO Blaine Graboyes has said that “casinos are eager to get the machines on their floors and study how their customers react to the revolutionary prospect of video game gambling.”
“The key to success is balancing the game design and game math. We’re working closely with our casino and game partners to learn from player data and feedback and to optimise the gameplay experience,” he stated.
GameCo, Inc. has also assembled experience from executives from Scientific Games and IGT, as well as award-winning developers for game publishers like WarGaming, Ubisoft, DreamWorks, The World Series Of Video Games and Blizzard Entertainment, to help with the VGM product.
The Managing Director of Javelin Venture Partners, Jed Katz, noted that “GenX and Millennials don’t play slots, but they do play video games. And while casinos have been attracting those customers with hot nightclubs, bars, and restaurants, it’s only logical that they offer a gambling product that’s attractive and fun for this customer base.”
“We love GameCo’s methodical approval to filling that void and we expect that they will establish a long term leadership position in a space that’s about to get really big,” he said.
Deepen Parikh, a partner at Courtside Ventures, explained how the vision of combining the real money casino gaming experience with the e-sports* market “presents a unique opportunity.”
“Blaine has brought together a group of highly experienced casino and gaming industry veterans, developing what we believe is a strong competitive advantage, in a highly regulated industry,” he stated.
*E-sports is the term used for competitive video gaming.
The regulatory approval process for the VGMs is already underway, and we can’t wait for the real things to start entering land based casinos, and no doubt arrive at online casinos that incorporate virtual reality gaming (like Slots Million Casino) in the very near future, too.
You can learn more about the vision, product and team of GameCo, Inc. at www.gco.gg.
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