Casino TV

Casino TV isn’t new.  As far back as 2005 subscribers to Sky Digital in the UK have been able to play casino games on their TV’s courtesy of Vegas 24/7 Broadcasting Ltd’s pioneering roulette television game.

But back then, game range and availability (ie networks and channels) were severely limited.  It was still very much an experimental gaming medium.

Five years on, judging by the levels of investment and activity in this area, it seems the experiment has proven to have legs.  Casino TV has grown from a 1-operator, 1-channel, 1-game. 1-country concern, to something far more prevalent.  It’s not quite as ubiquitous as the late night shopping channels, but it is gaining ground…fast.

Two of the more aggressive players in this space driving this expansion are the Smart Gaming Group who operate  Smart Live Casino and NetPLay TV Plc who acquired Vegas 24/7 Broadcasting a couple of years back and now operate a TV casino under the brand Super Casino.

Distribution channels expanding, in the UK and abroad

Game range is no longer limited to roulette.  Viewers can now play blackjack and baccarat as well.  And access isn’t limited to Sky subscribers in the UK.  Now a bunch of channels, including subscriber and free-to-air, within the UK and abroad are screening the games.

Smart Live games are now being broadcast on SKY and Freesat to UK viewers as well as over  the Hispasat Spanish satellite network, into Western and Central European via Europbird and as of last week to Maltese players via that country’s largest pay-tv network –  Melita TV.

Meanwhile, Netplay have been just as busy getting their games on more channels in more countries, with broadcasts on Freeview, SKY, FreeSat, STV in Scotland and significantly, Britain’s free-to-air Channel Five.

The Channel Five deal came on the back of (UK television regulator) Ofcom’s relaxing of the definition  of ‘teleshopping’ to include casino games.  This change, in turn, was prompted by television network appeals to Ofcom to give them access to additional revenue streams in the wake of plummeting advertising revenues due to the GFC.  NetPlay jumped at this opportunity and remote gambling landscape was indelibly altered when SuperCasino started airing on Channel Five.  Understandably this development was not without its detractors.  But whether good or bad, few argue its significance.

Supercasino now shares the airwaves with programs like Neighbours, Grey’s Anatomy, The Mentalist and UEFA Europa League and occupies a four hour slice of Five’s late night viewing schedule.

Networks now broadcasting casino games:

Is casino TV here to stay?

There are no certainties in life, and this is especially true in the volatile remote gambling regulatory environment.  But this does seem to have become an entrenched form of casino gaming.  It is no longer an experiment.  And while stunning profit figures are yet to materialise (NetPlay lost £3.2 in the first half of 2009), player and turnover numbers continue to grow and provide encouragement for incumbent and potential future operators.

It would take a brave analyst to bet that casino TV is a flash in the pan.

For more details on casino TV visit this TV casino guide