Exiting the Global Gaming Expo last month, Galaxy Gaming CEO Todd Cravens said the table games developer is in a great spot to take its business to a higher level.
The Las Vegas-based company introduced four new games at G2E and is going through the licensing process in several states and growing its business after dealing with a tumultuous ownership shakeup earlier this year.
Immediately after Galaxy Gaming completed a stock redemption in May with its former CEO, the company received licenses in Ontario, Canada, Maryland, and Wisconsin. In October, Arkansas licensed the company.
Galaxy CEO Todd Cravens
Galaxy is pursuing licenses in New Jersey, Mississippi and California and will file with other jurisdictions by the end of the year, including Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
Cravens said the restructuring provided a “huge fundamental shift” for the company to open up new opportunities that were hindered by regulatory hurdles with the ownership. He said Galaxy has grown revenue in the high teens on a year-over-year basis.
“We’re picking and choosing where we can go, and now we can make business decisions,” Cravens said. “It’s a bit more freeing. We’re as excited about business now as we have ever been because this opens markets like California that are fantastic for us as it is the largest table-game market in the country. There are a lot of jurisdictions open to us now and more on the horizon.”
Cravens said Galaxy Gaming has been operating in Washington and Delaware but through a third-party distributor. And with new games and additional licenses, Galaxy Gaming is able to offer a full cadre of its products.
“In the table game world, progressives are so important, and we weren’t able to offer the full wagon of goods,” Cravens said. “That’s pretty tough. Now these markets will be open for us to add progressives.”
Galaxy develops, manufactures and distributes proprietary table games, electronic wagering platforms and enhanced bonusing systems to different casino markets. Through its iGaming partner Games Marketing Ltd., Galaxy Gaming licenses its proprietary table games to the online gaming industry.
At G2E, Galaxy Gaming released Lucky 9, a house-banked game based on baccarat and blackjack. The object of the game is to win by having a point total closer to nine.
The company also unveiled Suited or Booted, progressive card game, and Ricochet Poker, where players and the dealer compete for a central pot with cards dealt face up. Emperor’s Challenge Exposed is a commission-free Pai Gow poker game with a fully exposed dealer hand.
Cravens said Galaxy announced a re-branding two months ago that moved the company beyond being just a “side-bet” provider with more content delivered digitally and customized to clients. The new look pays tribute to Galaxy’s core table games products.
“The great thing for us is we haven’t changed in what we want to do,” Craves said. “We know we need to make good consistent new products, open up jurisdictions and come up with compelling pay tables on the electronic side of things. That is what we are doing right now.”
Galaxy’s products are in more than 600 casinos throughout the world. The company has “proven content” with games like 21 + 3, a side bet game.
“We feel we have good quality products at the right price points and in a lot of situations where we haven’t been, our competitors have been able to charge whatever they want,” Cravens said. “We have customers out there who are looking for a little competition. I would hope there would be 750 casinos before the end of 2020.”
During G2E, the Hippodrome Casino London announced a three-year extension to its current partnership with Galaxy Gaming. The agreement involves product and marketing support for all of Galaxy’s proprietary table game titles and progressive systems. Galaxy has been in the property for six years and has provided progressive games for three years.
“The Hippodrome has been a great customer of ours for a long period of time and looking to do a deeper relationship and more higher denomination progressives,” Cravens said. “They have been almost a showroom for us where we have been able to take other customers not only from London and the U.K. but visiting customers. It is a validation of everything we have done. They have helped us grow the market over there.”
Cravens said progressive games are popular because people are willing to make larger wagers, an aspect that adds volatility to the game. The company changed it philosophy from “life-changing events to more trip-changing events.” He said Three-Card Poker had odds of more than 500,000-to-1 is now down to under 25,000-to-1.
“People feel that is attainable, and dealers can tell people sitting down that they have dealt winners on this,” Cravens said.
