After a few years in limbo, Full Tilt Poker has been successfully resurrected by Rational Group, the conglomerate that also owns PokerStars. Looking for brand differentiation, as well as the ability to expand into casino gaming markets, Rational Group announced that Full Tilt Poker will expand on its portfolio and offer casino games. Thanks to an agreement with Scandinavian games supplier Net Entertainment, Full Tilt Poker will soon be offering casino games both on desktop machines and mobile devices.
Potential New Games at Full Tilt
On multiple occasions over the past year, Rational Group has confirmed that there have been plans to expand to casino games on Full Tilt Poker, even promising slots play in the second quarter of this year. Just a few weeks prior to that announcement, Full Tilt Poker rolled out both blackjack and roulette for a test phase. Now, it appears that the gaming operator will soon offer a lot more, thanks to one of the highest-rated casino software developers in the business.
The “NetEnt” suite, created by Net Entertainment in Sweden, offers over 150 games, ranging from table games to slots. It stands to reason that NetEnt’s popular slot games will be appearing on the poker site soon, along with their versions of blackjack, baccarat, and other table games.
Rational Group’s Sam Hobcraft – currently listed as the organization’s “Director – Casino” – stated that he feels Net Entertainment will deliver a ton of value to Rational Group, especially on the mobile platform. Those statements have led many to think that one of the biggest thrusts behind this deal is NetEnt’s ability to deliver their platform to mobile devices. Currently, Full Tilt only offers Rush Poker to mobile users. This deal most likely means that a whole new mobile application will be made available to allow players to enjoy not just Rush Poker, but slots and table games as well.
Details About Net Entertainment
Net Entertainment AB, based out of Sweden, is a publicly listed organization that offers gambling software to hundreds of online gambling companies. Some of the more recognizable brands they offer their services to currently include bet365, Paf, Ladbrokes, and SportingBet. Their suite of games is a wide range of casino favorites, including slots, video poker, and lottery scratch cards. They also offer many different casino table games, including various forms of roulette, baccarat, blackjack, Caribbean Stud, and other games. Some of their featured branded slot machines include Aliens, South Park, and Scarface.
Net Entertainment touts itself as a “premium supplier of online casino games” and is used by many online casino operators around the world. Their system also includes a bonus program and “Back Office” for player administration services. The company was founded in 1996 and has shown a steady growth in stock price since the original IPO was offered in 2007.
No Change for PokerStars
According to all reports, no changes are coming at PokerStars. Going back as far as nine months ago, Rational Group stated publicly that they intended to keep PokerStars a poker-only brand. However, they also announced plans that Full Tilt was to expand into casino games to live next to the poker games already offered. Rational Group stated in July 2013 that “PokerStars will continue to offer a poker-only experience,” and that sentiment appears to continue be the strategy for the organization.
