| Type | Gaming community |
|---|---|
| Genre | Online gambling |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Founder(s) | Dave McDowell and Kevin O'Neal |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Website | http://www.GameAccountNetwork.com/ |
GameAccount Network is the world's largest Internet Skill Gaming Network. The company is based in Soho in Central London, England.
Since its launch in 2002 it has become the world's largest skill gaming network, having attracted over 2,000,000 players through some of the largest names in online gaming such as William Hill, Gala Coral Eurobet, Paddy Power and Sportingbet plc.
Sometimes referred to as the Betfair of skill games, the company has created a unique community for players to chat and play person-to-person games. Games offered include backgammon, gin rummy, dominoes and multiplayer blackjack.
Contents |
The two founders, Dave McDowell and Kevin O'Neal set up the company in 2000 and began working on a multiplayer gaming platform. The company was folded into Cantor Fitzgerald in 2001 and then demerged from that same company in 2002. Investment rounds in 2002, 2004, and 2006 brought in a variety of high profile investors such as the Smurfit family, who recently floated the Smurfit Kappa Group packaging multinational, Andrew Black, founder of Betfair, and Dermot Desmond founder of Betdaq.
The founders originally intended the company to monetize popular first person shooter (FPS) games but then settled on online sports games such as golf, pool and darts. Later additions to the early fun game portfolio were a scrabble type game, word-noodle, various solitaire games and blocs.
In 2005-6 the company's direction changed in that games of pure 'skill' (such as pool or blocs) were replaced with games of skill and chance combined such as gin rummy and backgammon. These games proved more successful as, like the online poker phenomenon they appealed to both beginners and professional players. In addition, the company also adopted more of a business to business strategy than the traditional operator or business to consumer route. Major bookmakers were signed up such as William Hill, Sportingbet and Paddy Power on whose sites a new product 'tab' called 'skill' was offered under their branding.
The GameAccount financial transaction platform allowed bookmaker clients to use the same account for the skill games as for all of their sports, casino and poker products.
More bookmakers were added in 2007-8 including Gala Coral Group, Boylesports, Bluesquare and Stanjames.
In 2005, the company was awarded the industry's Award for Innovation for their Tournament Blackjack (person-to-person) game by egaming review.
In 2007, GameAccount became one of the very first UK gaming operators and suppliers to be licensed by the new UK Gambling Commission and operates as a software supplier to the gambling industry under this licence. In the same year they also received an Associate certificate from the Alderney Gaming Commission.
In 2008, Nigel Payne, previously CEO of Sportingbet joined the GameAccount Network board as Chairman. The Company re-branded as GameAccount Network and moved to larger premises in the West End of London. GameAccount also launched the Italian Skill Games Network on 29 September 2008, with SNAI S.p.A. as its first licensee for regulated online Skill Games in the newly regulated Italian market.
In 2009, David Hudd re-joined the GameAccount Network board as Chairman replacing Nigel Payne who stepped down in September 2009. David Hudd is currently a director of several companies in the UK and the chairman of publicly-listed Falkland Island Holdings Plc. On 23 November 2009 GameAccount Network launched tournament-based Skill Games for Lottomatica.
In 2010, GameAccount Network launched its first Italian cultural game Briscola and readied its 'true multiplayer' gaming platform for commercial launch offering true multiplayer cash games for Three Card Brag.
In May 2011, GameAccount Network won the Skill Games Supplier of the Year Award from eGaming Review Magazine, cementing GameAccount Network's leading position in supplying online skill-based games.
In 2011, GameAccount Network launched the first in a series of online 'ports' or conversions of offline, land-based machine casino slot games manufactured by global casino slot game manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL). Aristocrat's USA subsidiary Aristocrat Technologies, Inc. subsequently partnered with GameAccount Network in order to offer an online platform solution to its 200+ land-based casinos in the USA in preparation for expected USA online gaming regulation. By year-end 2011 GameAccount Network had delivered several Aristocrat casino slot games into the online regulated market in Europe including 50 Lions, Queen of the Nile and More Chilli, playable for fun or for real money.
In October 2006, after the USA Government introduced the UIGEA legislation to prohibit online gaming in the USA, GameAccount Network closed all accounts opened by USA residents despite providing only games of pure skill for free and for real money in tournament formats.
In 2006 Gameaccount became embroiled in a bitter legal dispute with former business partner Cantor Fitzgerald. An agreement from 2002 prohibited Gameaccount from using software developed within Cantor for use with third party bookmakers. Gameaccount agreed to compensation for use of a golf game in conjunction with bookmakers and agreed to submit to damages. This, was, however, considered unsatisfactory to Cantor Fitzgerald who sued for copyright infringement for other parts of the system. The dispute was eventually settled in 2007 and in his judgement, Daniel Alexander found that a Cantor database that was still on the Gameaccount servers, though not used was still technically in breach of copyright. He noted that "Although it wasn't actually performing the function for which it was designed (i.e. as a full-function database), GA Money was stored, backed up, reproduced in part and regularly regularly accessed in order to perform the limited function for which Gameaccount used it between 2004, following its arrangements with UKBetting, and 2006. Much of this case revolved around various interpretations of the words 'use' and 'copy', especially in the context of databases. Effectively, the ruling suggests that to have a dormant database sitting on servers does still constitute usage and copying. [1]
GameAccount operates a gaming network supplying bookmakers mentioned earlier. It also operates a number of smaller consumer facing brands such as Casinorip.com and worldgammon.com. In 2004, the company acquired the URL and customer assets of treasuregames.com, and in 2008 the company acquired the same for a large backgammon site called gamesgrid.com. In 2010, the company acquired certain assets previously held by The Moneygaming Corporation Limited trading as MoneyGaming.com and relaunched MoneyGaming.com on 19 January 2010 as a member of the GameAccount Network.