Bally Technologies, Aristocrat unveil partnerships with two gaming companies

Bally Technologies Inc. and Aristocrat Technologies Inc. on Tuesday unveiled alliances with other gaming companies aimed at expanding their online presence globally as well as business-to-business product offerings.

Bally will work with gaming supplier Shuffle Master Inc. and online poker provider Ongame Networks Ltd. to jointly develop a poker and iGaming platform. It will add Ongame's poker content interface to Bally's iGaming platform.

Bally and Shuffle Master already provide gaming technology for several Las Vegas-based casino companies, including Wynn Resorts Ltd., Las Vegas Sands Corp, and MGM Resorts International.

Gavin Isaacs, CEO of Shuffle Master, said the partnership will "create the opportunity for gaming operators to control their data, establish liquidity and ensure their suppliers are truly committed to a B2B model."

Shuffle Master and Ongame announced a similar deal Tuesday with Aristocrat Technologies, a subsidiary of Australia's Aristocrat Leisure Ltd.

Aristocrat will use Ongame's poker content to enhance the more than 30 proprietary games already included in its iGaming platform, known as nLive.

"Today both Aristocrat and Bally Technologies have agreed to offer Ongame as one of our preferred poker solutions," said Kelly Shaw, Aristocrat's vice president of system sales and marketing. "We have already begun work on integrating the Ongame poker solution into our nLive platform."

Shaw said Aristocrat intends to offer customers the opportunity to participate in a combined liquidity pool that will benefit both customers and operators.