Looking to keep pace with its competitors, CryptoLogic Inc. last week became the latest supplier for the online gaming industry to offer multiplayer poker.
The new system was developed by Crypto's wholly owned subsidiary, WagerLogic Ltd., and will be billed as CryptoLogic Poker.
Built around a central poker-room concept in which all licensee casinos feed into a single poker site, CryptoLogic Poker gives operators the opportunity to be part of a large poker community, ensuring that players can always find a game at their desired stakes level.
To meet the specifications of each licensee's casino brand, the system enables players to choose among U.S. dollars, Great Britain pounds sterling or Euros.
While operators have the advantage of connecting players to the Crypto network, the virtual poker rooms will appear to the players as if all participants are at the same casino.
In addition to adding poker, Crypto announced the upgrading of its proprietary e-cash system to enable players to move from casino games to bingo to poker without switching accounts.
Lewis Rose, interim president and CEO, feels having the multicurrency play as well as the integrated e-cash system raises the bar for competing software suppliers. And he predicts the company won't have problems building a significant volume of poker players because the system is tied into the vast network of Crypto licensees.
"The exceptional quality and international nature of our brand-name customers will generate player traffic for more hours throughout the day by taking advantage of prime playing times in countries around the globe," he said.
On the back end, CryptoLogic Poker incorporates extensive security and anti-collusion features, including sophisticated algorithms for flagging suspicious activity. As reinforcement, Poker experts will be on hand to monitor game play. Additionally, a proprietary user-friendly log viewer enables players to track each hand they play.
The system also includes a chat feature and customer service tied into the WagerLogic's support center.
CryptoLogic Poker features Texas Hold'em and 7-card stud, with additional games including Omaha and Omaha Hi/Low coming soon. Tournament play and linked jackpot games also add to the appeal of the system.
On Monday InterCasino.com became the first Crypto licensee to launch a virtual poker room.
The rollout of CryptoLogic Poker came just days after competitor Chartwell Technologies announced it was develooping a poker suite of its own. The two Canadian companies join Microgaming and a host of other software suppliers that have implemented multiplayer poker. World Gaming and Boss Media will launch their versions in the near future too.