WMS and Partouche in online casino deal

Chicago-based WMS Industries Inc., which owns the Jackpot Party online casino, has announced that a wholly owned WMS subsidiary has entered into an agreement with France-based land gambling outfit Groupe Partouche SA, to provide it with a WMS-hosted online casino site for residents of Belgium.

It is not known what role Partouche’s online division Partouche Interactive is playing in the agreement.

WMS spokesmen said this week that the joint operations agreement with Groupe Partouche represents the first business-to-business (B2B) deployment of WMS’ robust online gaming solution, including the i-Gaming technology and platform that power the successful, award-winning JackpotParty.com site.

Players visiting the new Groupe Partouche online site for Belgium, branded under the familiar Casino Knokke name, will have access to a diverse array of WMS’ proprietary slot games as well as a number of player-favourite card and table games, including Baccarat, Roulette, Blackjack and Video Poker.

The site will feature unique WMS online gaming experiences including licensed game themes such as The Wizard of Oz; I Love Lucy and classic WMS games such as Super Jackpot Party, Goldfish, Life of Luxury Progressive, Reel ’em In and Zeus themed slot machines. Punters will also have access to the Jackpot Party Progressive – touted as the first accumulating online jackpot in the world that can be awarded on any game, with any wager, at any time, completely at random.

Group Partouche presently operates four Belgian casinos and holds licenses from the government to conduct online gaming in Belgium. The WMS-hosted online casino will operate under one of nine online casino licenses awarded by the Belgium Gaming Commission and is expected to go live in summer 2012.

Orrin J. Edidin, President of WMS, said, “Groupe Partouche is an ideal launch partner for our comprehensive iGaming B2B solutions. We look forward to working collaboratively to create cross-marketing opportunities that will complement their land-based casino operations by providing players with the convenience of playing at home, in addition to playing at the casino.

“This joint operation marks a significant milestone in the execution of our online gaming strategy and expansion plans. It establishes our comprehensive suite of B2B online gaming capabilities and managed services offering as value-creating online solutions for land-based casino operators seeking to move forward with online gaming for their patrons.”

Fabrice Paire, chairman of Groupe Partouche, said, “This collaboration with WMS is the obvious next step in our business development. The focus of the Partouche Group is to offer the very best of online games and gaming experiences for our customers’ entertainment; and to position the Partouche brand as the premier benchmark in online gaming in Belgium, as well as in our land-based Belgian and French markets.”

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