It may have been a great thing for online gambling to have become somewhat of an entity in various US states. Yet, because it operates under a state-by-state setup, the industry has seemingly collapsed on itself before it’s managed to successfully start running. This has left player pools fairly limited and the online poker lobbies that exist in dire need of more players.
Despite this, a group of different companies have tried to propel themselves to the top of the US market. Yet, five years after the beginning of this push, some of them have had to shut up shop, while others remain hanging on for dear life.
That being said, the online poker scene in the United States has had a bit of a boost in more recent months. With the interstate poker network going forward between Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey, and with Pennsylvania being the next likely candidate to join that, it seems as though there could be a revival of the revival soon.
And potentially, IGT could be the brand to make this revival be a success. A recent announcement was made stating that this company will be the one responsible for providing the Penn National and Valley Forge casinos with online poker. However, things could be different this time around. IGT may just be the one to swallow up its competition in the US market.
What Will Be Different This Time?
IGT is a UK-based provider, and it already operates as one of the world’s biggest slot machine creators. Multiple titles from the brand exist at both online and land-based casinos around the world. It’s online poker options, on the other hand, are not something that it is known for within the industry.
However, the developer is looking to adjust the opinion of people on this front. It was around two years ago that the company chose to take the BOSS Media poker platform and strip it completely down. Building it back up again, IGT gave the platform a huge overhaul and redesigned it in a modern and enticing setup.
Of course, in today’s gambling world, a lot of players prefer to access poker from their smartphone or tablet. That’s why IGT took it upon itself to remodel and upgrade its mobile poker app, catering to this market. Unique innovations from the brand exist in this, including new thumb controls that haven’t been seen before.
For the time being, the poker options from IGT can only be found at a small number of online platforms, including Svenska Spel based in Sweden.
That is definitely about to change though, with the partnerships that IGT has signed with the two previously mentioned casinos. Why? Because the brand will be supplying the casinos with both poker and its online casino software. This will see the new poker software compete against big-name brands, including both PokerStars and World Series of Poker, which is powered by the 888 software.
If IGT doesn’t want to end up in the same US graveyard as Ultimate Poker and Betfair Poker, to name just a couple, it may want to take a few lessons from the introduction of poker to New Jersey.
