Aristocrat Ventures Into U.S Market

Of late more gaming providers and internet casinos are bracing themselves for the day when internet gambling is legalized in the United States again.

Aristocrat signed an agreement with Maryland Live! land casino and tribal operator Island Resort and Casino whose ‘free-to-play’ virtual casino should be up-and-running in the second quarter of 2012.

In June 2012 Maryland Live! will open its doors for business and offer its customers an internet play-for-fun option that will be powered by the new Aristocrat internet platform. Aristocrat announced that its fully-branded play-for-fun virtual casino open in March 2012, offering Maryland Live! Casino games like poker, slots and skill-based games.

The reason why the virtual casino launch is planned before the real casino opening is that the site aims to upgrade the brand of Maryland Live! Casino and to attract numerous players even before the opening.

Rob Norton, Maryland Live! Casino President and General Manager, said, “We are creating the most unique casino gaming experience on the East Coast, right in the heart of one of the most populous regions in the country. We only want the very best for our customers in every aspect of the property, and after carefully considering everything on the marketplace, we decided Aristocrat and Oasis were the partners we needed to open strongly and position us for success far into the future.”

On the flip side of the coin, Aristocrat Americas President Nick Khin stated: “We are very excited to be selected by Maryland Live! Casino to be their casino system and internet solutions provider. Aristocrat’s recent investments in systems have allowed us to provide a range of advanced solutions that will power the largest casino opening of the year.”

Pertaining to the above mentioned deal with Island Resort & Casino, its virtual casino will offer the existing and new Island Resort & Casino players with the full gamut of free-to-play games, like poker, slots and other classic casino games such as blackjack and roulette. Their internet and land profiles will be included through Aristocrat Oasis 360’s nLiveLink technology.

Island Resort & Casino General Manager Tom McChesney, rendered feedback concerning the deal,: “We are very proud to be the first Tribal casino in North America to partner with Aristocrat on their innovative internet solutions. We like the ability the technology gives us to aggressively service current and new guests in an online environment to build our brand and player loyalty, and bring our guests back to our land-based facility. “