GameSource platform to debut Cambodia, Vietnam: firm

May 24, 2019 Newsdesk G2E Asia 2019, Latest News, Macau, Rest of Asia  

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The GameSource electronic game platform is to make its debut in Cambodia and Vietnam later this year, says developer Pacific Intellectuals Alliance (Macau) Ltd. In Macau, the platform has successfully passed trials at casino hotel MGM Macau, the equipment supplier’s managing director Lam Iao told GGRAsia.

GameSource consists of a cloud-based platform offering land-based casinos access to a library of electronic games. It includes game and data management, auditing functions, and monitoring tools, for operators and regulators to track play and business performance.

“The trial has been passed and now we are waiting for official ‘turn on’ for revenue mode, which we anticipate happening in the next month or two at MGM Macau,” Mr Iao said. That property is owned and managed by casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd.

In addition, the platform is undergoing internal testing at two additional properties in Macau, said the company.

“This year, we will be expanding our footprint to Cambodia and Vietnam,” Mr Iao added.

In Cambodia, GameSource is to be deployed at phases II and III of casino property Jin Bei, in Sihanoukville, said Mr Iao.

In Vietnam, GameSource will be deployed at the Hoiana casino resort, a venue scheduled to open in the fourth quarter of this year. The casino at the property is to be managed by Suncity Group Holdings Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed vehicle controlled by Macau casino junket investor Alvin Chau Cheok Wa.

Pacific Intellectuals Alliance also has plans to introduce GameSource in the United States, with a Nevada-based partner. “We will be rolling out our platform alongside with a sportsbook provider,” Mr Iao said. “We are already in technical discussion and we anticipate to roll out by the end of the year, or first quarter of next year.”

Business prospects

GameSource was the highlight of Pacific Intellectuals Alliance’s exhibition stand at Global Gaming Expo (G2E) 2019 (pictured). The three-day trade show took place in casino resort Venetian Macao, in Macau’s Cotai district. It ended on Thursday.

GameSource runs on generic devices that have a touchscreen. This means no specific hardware is needed to play the games carried on the digital platform. Casino operators select which games from among those in the platform’s library they want to make available to their customers.

Mr Iao said that the product took four years to develop and a total investment of about US$25 million, including ensuring all regulatory compliance. “We foresee achieving full return on investment by end of 2021 or first quarter of 2022,” he added, explaining that would be the equivalent to about 400 to 450 devices deployed.

Mr Iao also mentioned plans for a potential listing. “That is under discussion and consideration,” he said.

Currently, there are four gaming content providers – CREATEC, August Gaming, EPICONE and Laxino Systems Ltd – that have signed up with Pacific Intellectuals Alliance to provide their games to the platform; in addition, the firm is also working with a number of individual game developers.

“We currently have about 80 games in our library,” Mr Iao said.

He added that the GameSource platform also made it easy for independent third-party content developers to make their games available there.

“We want to make sure developers provide game content that is different from traditional slot games,” he said. “There is no point if you just clone existing games and place them in our platform: that does not bring value to us and does not bring value to the casino operators.”

GameSource is available both via fixed terminals and handheld, portable devices that can be used only within a designated area within the casino space. “With the handheld devices, players can just sit around in a couch as they were at home. That is the sort of new generation player experience that land-based casinos lack at the moment, and we can provide them right now, for them to target that new segment of the market,” Mr Iao said.

The latter was a reference to a preference among younger generations of gamblers to bet using handheld devices – such as smartphones or tablet computers – instead of traditional slot machines.

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