AB Svenska Spel, Scandinavia's biggest gaming company with receipts in 2001 of US$1.726 billion, is tightening its cooperation with gaming system supplier Boss Media.
Boss designed the software for Svenska Spel's Internet casino, www.casinocosmospol.se. The informational and play-for-free site, available only in Swedish, promotes Svenska Spel's four land-based casinos under the Casino Cosmopol label.
After evaluating the first four successful casinos in Sundsvall, Malmö, Gothenburg and Stockholm, the government will be in a position to grant permits for two more.
Now Boss Media, a publicly traded company listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange's O-list, will develop, primarily for the Internet, digital scratch cards, lotteries and other quick games for the Swedish operator.
For this Boss Media has developed a new technology based on Flash and HTML.
The developing partnership could provide a much needed shot in the arm for the company, which has been in a dip since the beginning of 2001 (with net sales in of $19.15 million in 2001 and $20.53 million in 2000).
According to Peter Bertilsson, CEO of Boss Media, "This is not a small thing. It is our most important contract so far."
Spokeswoman Ulrika Persson added, "They pay an upfront fee and a variable fee when the new platform is up and running."
Svenska Spel Vice President for New Media Mikael Franzén said the "mutual cooperation" agreement last more than a year. The financial details of the deal were undisclosed.
Boss Media additionally this week launched a gaming product called Interactive Video Terminals (IVT), a solution through which physical gaming machines can be powered by Boss Media's Internet-based software. IVT will be available for use at casinos, on cruise ships or by traditional gaming machine operators.
Operators will be able to change games by simply pressing a button. For example, they'll be able to offer bingo in the daytime and roulette at night and adapt games according to demand without the need to invest in new machines.
The IVT system is also designed to increase profitability by providing immediate gaming statistics and other real-time information.