Konami has become a new player in the Class II gaming space and already boasts three states in the company’s portfolio. The slot developer previously licensed only Class II content to a third party, but the longtime gaming brand is now forging ahead with its own in-house offerings in an effort to better serve the tribal-gaming segment.
The move came after the acquisition of ISDgames, which boasted a Class II system, including the popular Shockwave title. That also served as a foray into the Class II gaming space, which Konami then got to work building on.
“So Konami acquired ISD, completing due diligence and improvements to the system, while building our own library to be able to properly deploy the product into different Class II markets,” Konami Gaming Vice President of North American Game Sales Deron Hunsberger says. “It took a bit of time to make sure that the product was sound, the system was sound, and that we had a sufficient library to be able to launch and be successful.”
The company now boasts several partners in Washington, Texas, and the Miccosukee Casino & Resort in Florida, which had already been using ISD gaming options before being acquired by Konami. The transition from Class III gaming to Class II as well allowed for diversification and offers casinos another gaming option in a large sector of the market.
“It’s been great,” Hunsberger says. “I think there was a lot of pent-up demand and desire on the operators’ side to be able to utilize Konami’s current content in the marketplace. Obviously, as you look at adjacent markets, Class III, there are plenty of Konami cabinets and content. As you’ve seen the divergence of Class II and Class III marketplaces, it certainly is beneficial from their operation to be able to provide Konami content as some diversity on their floors.
“So it really was a situation where the timing was right for us to come in and customers were very excited to be able to bring the product on the floor. Currently, we’re in six locations in Washington state. We focused on some of the larger ones – Tulalip Resort Casino, Quil Ceda Creek Casino, ilani Casino Hotel, Angel of the Winds Casino Resort, Muckleshoot Casino Resort, and Little Creek Casino Resort. Those were the ones we initially targeted and went in with, and are very excited to partner with them. I think it’s been beneficial all around.”
Class II offers a big opportunity for the developer behind popular titles like All Aboard, Dragon’s Law, and Unwooly Riches. Hunsberger says some markets like Texas don’t allow for Class III gaming at all, giving Konami a chance to enter areas where the company didn’t previously have a footprint.
That enhances player recognition of Konami products, as players may carry an interest in certain games with them to other Class III properties and jurisdictions. Expansion in both the product line and additional properties is expected to grow in the coming years. But Konami is looking to expand in a measured responsible process, Hunsberger adds.
“We launched with our DIMENSION cabinet, with our strongest performing legacy products,” he says. “We’re still building the library, and anticipate as we move forward, we’ll be bringing our newer cabinets and newer content into those markets as well. We have a very robust library to draw from.
“The only hindrance or delay involved is importing that Class III math over to a bingo draw, which takes some time and ensuring that it’s going to play true to the original game. So we take our time to make sure that the player experience is going to be as similar as possible in a Class III environment as it is in a Class II environment.”
The company is currently in active conversations to enter the Alabama market and is considering other opportunities in Washington. Hunsberger notes that entering Class II comes with some intrinsic challenges that may not be seen in the Class III environment, but the Konami team is stepping up.
“Class II requires a pretty large internal infrastructure to support the product,” he says. “Since it’s network gaming, we want to make sure we have a game library in place that supports our customer and we have service personnel in the field to provide the service they require. We don’t want to get over our skis from that perspective; we want to make sure that we’re being thoughtful about what markets we go into, how we’re deploying it, and that the product that we’re deploying is successful.”
Those looking to check out what Konami has been working on will have an opportunity at the upcoming G2E. Hunsberger promises a significant selection of Class II games, along with some Class III products. For Konami, planting a flag in the Class II arena means that better serving tribal gaming operators is a major part of the expansion.
“Konami has always held great value with tribal customers, and so it was very important for us to go into Class II to continue to support the tribal gaming community,” he says. “We’re really excited about being in that market. We’ve just scratched the surface and I think we’re going to do quite well”
