Online casino games are hot. So much so that we’re renaming our site Casino GamesBeat. Just kidding, but The United States Playing Card Company (owner of the Bicycle playing card brand) and Digi117 aren’t. Those two companies are partnering to form Zeniz, a mobile social casino game platform.
Together, they will launch the Zeniz Social Casino platform for iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch) and Android this spring. Casino games are the rage, according to a first-quarter acquisition and investments report by Digi-Capital. Just yesterday, Playsino announced it had raised $1.5 million.
The United States Playing Card Company is based in Erlanger, Kentucky, and is a subsidiary of Jarden. Vancouver, Canada-based Digi117 is a mobile strategy agency. Their Zeniz Social Casino will operate under a freemium model, where you can play casino games for free and pay real money for virtual goods such as virtual currency.
They plan to launch a new casino game for the platform every two months, eventually creating a full suite of casino games. Zeniz will be a social gaming network that is like a shell, with a Main Stage, where players can engage with mobile games before entering branded game rooms.
“Our product is more than just another poker app, it’s a virtual casino: one lobby with digital entertainment as well as many games,” said Marc Hill, president of USPC. “The platform is targeted to social gamers with high-end graphics optimized for mobile devices and tablets that bring together critical game attributes and branding opportunities that don’t exist in any other mobile game application. Our platform introduces new technology and exciting new ways to play casino games in both single-play and social-play modes. ”
USPC is the largest provider of playing cards in North America and owner of the Bicycle, Bee, and Aristocrat playing card brands. The company is moving into digital and repositioning itself for a new generation of consumers. That’s a big step for a company that has been in business for 125 years.
“We are excited to be partnered with USPC and feel lucky to be involved with a visionary like Marc helping to implement the USPC digital strategy,” said Vadim Chernega, president of Digi117. “After designing, developing, and promoting over two hundred mobile applications with millions of downloads, we feel confident our experience will make this game a winner. We have some of the most talented designers, and we have launched a new-to-the-world social gaming concept.”
The company isn’t yet describing any of the digital games.
“As entertainment becomes centered on digital, we know we have to offer our customers a new way to play,” said Hill. “Our vision is to leverage our heritage and develop a revenue-generating social gaming company to compete in the mobile application space.”
[Photo credit: Andreas Rueda, Flickr]