Probability plc offers gambling services over mobile phones. It offers an integrated platform that delivers casino games and bingo to mobile users. Probability has developed a new platform for poker that will enable it to generate revenue through rake collected in poker games as opposed to acting as the house. The first game launched is Heads Up Texas Hold’em Poker.
The game has already undergone the tests and approval for release has been obtained from the Alderney Gaming Commission, which is the regulator for Probability. It is initially expected to be promoted among the existing users of Probability games through its own and through partner networks. The rake will be between 5% and 10% of the amount staked by each player so as to keep it in conformity with online poker norms. The minimum stake per player will be £1. The new platform will release some non poker head to head games later this year. These are Connect4 and Battleships.
The new platform is known as “Zaphod”. Interestingly Zaphod uses the Internet to connect to mobile phones. The platform has a matching engine that allows players of the same skill level and wanting to play at the same stake level to locate each other. Other features prevalent in online poker rooms have been provided. These include personal avatars and social networking and are expected to induce loyalty to the platform. Another advantage of Zaphod is that it can utilize the cashier options, such as e-wallets, that players have created on the existing platform.
The Chief Executive Officer of Probability, Charles Cohen, elucidated in detail on the launch of the mobile poker game. He said that the operation had taken nine months of research and development followed by exhaustive testing. Probability looks at Zaphod as an investment for the future. Head to head mobile games are a new and unique concept in the gaming industry. It has applications in the traditional gambling areas like poker and games of mass appeal like Connect4 can also be adapted to it.
According to Cohen, market research at Probability has showed that the time spans available for mobile gaming are short like a bus ride or a wait in the doctor’s clinic. Therefore players prefer simple and quick head to head games for mobile gaming. Hence when Probability decided to go into mobile poker it avoided the multi player games common in online poker rooms. Those games are preferred when players are at home and have more time. Cohen said, “Rather than positioning ourselves as competition for existing poker, we hope that our offering will complement the richer on-line experience.”
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