A gaming technology company backed by the Smurfit family, has sealed a "strategic partnership" with the US arm of Konami, a Japanese slot machine company.
GameAccount Network (GAN), which is listed on the Alternative Investment Market, says the deal with Konami Gaming will involve pushing its online gaming platform on up to 80 land-based casinos that are already customers of Konami.
Dermot Smurfit Junior, chief executive of GAN, said he believes a "substantial proportion" of the 80 casinos will use their technology to launch online gaming, as a direct result of the deal with Konami.
State by state, the US is slowly opening up to online gaming and gambling. GAN is one of a handful of technology companies eligible for licences to supply services into the US market.
As well as supplying slot machines to casinos, Konami also supplies a “casino management system” (CMS), which is a detailed system of records relating to all operations. All US land-based casinos are required to install a CMS by law.
Mr Smurfit said most of Konami’s 80 CMS customers are exploring how to develop an online presence. GAN, he said, is Konami’s “preferred solution” for rolling out an online gaming platform in the US.
