Creating a Bridge for Dual Platforms

A new I-gaming software company is betting its login process will make it unique in the increasingly crowded software marketplace.

Since 1998, Diamond Digital Systems has been watching other software companies like Boss Media and Microgaming and learning from their experiences. What's different about Diamond's Internet casino software, it said, is that while the games are offered in both Java and a downloadable form, players need only one username and password to use both platforms.

Nick Gabriel, Diamond's vice president of operations, said the dual platform frees players from remembering two separate logins.

"This is yet one more thing to remember," Gabriel said. "Because we came a little bit later to the game than Microgaming, Boss, RTG--for us that was an advantage because we could see what everybody else was doing."

The Java-based platform has 20 games. Gabriel said each Java game is being converted to the other platform at a rate of about two per month; 12 have been converted so far. Diamond created the Java games first because the company originally focused much of its developmental energy on the non-downloadable platform.

"We decided to release the non-download platform first and have really focused a lot of development effort into that, not because we didn't want to do a download at the same time, but because of the way the non-download is coded, it is really easy to support our Java code to the download," he said.

Diamond released its Java platform in September 2000 and the download version in July 2001. So far the company has five licensees: digitalbetting.com, winnersplay.com, bluesclubcasino.com, mangocasino.com and blackdogcasino.com. The last two will go live this week, and Gabriel said a few more signings are about to be announced.

The company is owned by Costa Rica-based Matrix Systems Ltd, which specializes in the development of Internet gaming technology. Gabriel said Diamond offers a range of slots, video poker and keno games. He said he believes it is the only company that allows users to login with the same username and password no matter what platform they are playing on.

"After you register, you can be playing blackjack on your browser, on the Web site, and halfway through the game, go away, come back, fire up the download platform, and open blackjack in the same place with exactly the same cards open," he said.

Gabriel said for the customer, the advantages of having the same login for both platforms include not having to remember two passwords and usernames, as well as not having to open an additional e-mail account if the casino's site requires users to have a separate e-mail address for each of the player's usernames.

For operators, the advantages include having a player database that accurately reflects the number of customers a site actually has. Sites that require two logins end up with repeats in their database, he said.

"The more data you have, the more time it takes to sift through all the data," he said. "When you're doing internal marketing, you might think you've got half a million subscribers, when actually you've only got 300,000."

In terms of learning from other I-gaming software companies, Gabriel said his company has picked up a lot from the groups that have been around longer--RTG, Boss and the like. Having a back end that caters well to the casino owner and allowing the operator to own its player database are two things Diamond learned from watching the more experienced companies.

"Each of them have their strengths and weaknesses, I'm sure they say the same about ours, so having said that we try to be strong in as many areas as possible," he said.

Consolidation in the field of Internet gambling software companies is sure to happen at some point in the future, and Gabriel said it's a reality that not every company will come out a winner. For that reason, he said, Diamond is already establishing relationships with its peers.

Beside its operator-friendly back end, Diamond's software includes protocols to make it as hack proof as possible, Gabriel said. One of the ways Diamond hack-proofs its software is by having only one of its three servers on the Internet. The games are played on a server that is on the private network side of the back end, he said

Backend logistics and security are important to casino operators, but for players the look and feel of the games are what matters most. Gabriel said Diamond made sure to make the games as user-friendly as possible with features like big cards that are easy to read, big reels for the slot machines as well as a minimal number of clicks to play the game.

"You're playing this game, and it's important that the graphics look good," he said. "You want to be able to see what you're doing."