THE BIGGEST SOCIAL CASINO NEWS OF THE QUARTER
KamaGames marks strong results with product launches SOCIAL CASINO STUDIO KamaGames, operator of the Pokerist social app, has reported a strong financial performance for the full 2017 year, off the back of an increase in active users. Revenue was up 63 per cent to US$57.5m in 2017, with results benefiting from six consecutive quarters of growth. Managing director Andrey Kuznetsov (pictured) described t he s t r on g p er for m a nc e as “unprecedented” in the current social casino market. T he resu lts c a me as KamaGames saw its registered player base hit the 100 million mark this year, with five million of those players being added during Q1 2018 alone. Providing a breakdown of its users, KamaGames said 40.7 per cent came from Europe, followed by 22.9 per cent from the US and 17.9 per cent from Asia. The increase in new users was credited with a range of new product launches, most recently KamaGames’ first entry into the social slots vertical. The operator said the new launch was intended to diversify the company’s player base. “As a company, we have already achieved success with our leading 3D casino
games. However, the slot-playing audience was still an untapped market segment for us,” Kuznetsov commented. On the product front, KamaGames also launched its flagship Pokerist title on Facebook’s Instant Games platform for the first time, making it “easily available to the two billion Facebook Messenger users”, according to Kuznetsov. With an eye on the future, Kama also released Poker Champions, a new social casino product targeting the Indian gaming market, in partnership with Shanghaibased YooZoo Games. The product is a white-label variant of Pokerist, with tweaked graphics and in-game mechanics tailored towards quicker rummy games that are popular in India. “This is an especially good time for a major mobile game launch in India. We know that the average time Indian consumers spend on their phones increased by 50 per cent in 2017, and with the continued increase in smartphone penetration, it is expected to lead to a h i g h e r mobi le c o m m e r c e s p e n d ,” Kuznetsov said.
Zynga posts first fullyear profit since 2010 SOCIAL GAMING GIANT Zynga has posted its first full-year profit for seven years as it reported revenue ahead of expectations during the final quarter of 2017. Revenue for Q4 increased 22 per cent year-on-year to US$233.3m, bolstered by the launch of Words with Friends 2 and a partial contribution of Peak Games’ casual card games studio, a $100m acquisition in November. Full-year revenue for 2017 was up 16 per cent to $861.4m, with a net income of $26.6m – compared with a $108.m loss in 2016. “[We] intend to use the strength of our balance sheet and positive cash flow from operations to explore M&A opportunities that will enhance our growth potential,” said Zynga CEO Frank Gibeau. “Our goal is to bring talented teams and compelling franchises into Zynga that align with our strategic priorities, to grow our live services, create new forever franchises and build out our capabilities on emerging mobile platforms.” In a bid to grow its poker product, Zynga has also launched World Poker Tour (WPT) branded tournaments via Zynga Poker as part of a new partnership with poker event organiser Ourgame International. Zynga said the partnership would enable it to leverage WPT’s presence across multiple channels, and will see it launch free-to-play WPT-themed tournaments on Zynga Poker from the second half of this year.
IN BRIEF Greentube
AGTech Holdings
FlowPlay
BlueBat Games, a subsidiary of Novomatic’s Greentube interactive division, has launched a new social casino as part of a wider deal with Seminole Gaming and Hard Rock International. Customers at the Atlantic City’s soon-to-open Hard Rock Hotel & Casino will be able to link Atlantic City Wild Card rewards account to BlueBat social gaming site HardRockSocialCasino.com. Points accumulated can be redeemed for merchandise, meals and other prizes. Meanwhile, Greentube’s Funstage social casino has integrated cryptocurrency CashBet Coin as a payment solution.
Hong Kong-listed AGTech Holdings has partnered with mobile payments provider Paytm to enter India with the launch of its new Gamepind social gaming platform. The Gamepind platform went live in India in January, offering casual gaming to players while shopping online. The joint venture between AGTech and Paytm that launched the platform is the first major global business expansion for AGTech since it became a part of Alibaba Group last year.
Seattle-based social casino developer FlowPlay has named Craig Robinson as its new chief revenue officer, with Scott Pultz handed the role of chief architect. Both are internal promotions, with Robinson previously serving as vice president of mobile games and Pultz as senior architect. “Craig and Scott have been invaluable members of the leadership team as the company has grown over the past ten years, especially in their individual and collective contributions to our most recent corporate initiative to overhaul our entire platform,” said FlowPlay chief executive Derrick Morton.
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