Harrods Online Casino is pairing up with Kismet Studios for operation of Harrods' gaming Web site. For almost one month, said Andrew Tottenham, the Harrods gaming site has been dormant following the exit of its former operator and software supplier, Gaming Insight.
Gaming Insight announced in November that it will move away from online casino operations in favor of increased participation in greyhound race betting. Tottenham, the director of Harrods Leisure and Harrods Online, said his group got out of its agreement with Gaming Insight because they felt its switch to greyhound racing didn't reflect Harrods Online's core business.
"We decided that we would license our brand to somebody and we'd been in discussions with Kismet about using their software," Tottenham said. "They said they'd be interested in having a brand license."
Kismet is a company of about 20 people with offices in the United States and London. It has a subsidiary, Kismet International NV, located in the Netherlands Antilles. The software engineering and design takes place in Bangalore, India. Its other large online gaming client is Philippines-based Sports and Games Entertainment Inc. (SAGE), which is licensed to operate Internet gambling by the state-owned Pagcor (Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation).
The Harrods online gaming site will be relented in January with Kismet software, said Manu Gambhir, the CEO and cofounder of Kismet. Gambhir said his company is working to integrate other aspects of the Harrods brand into the gaming experience.
"If people earn rewards points by playing at the casino (rewards points being a form of loyalty points) they can use those points to redeem merchandise--a Rolex watch, a select bottle of wine," he said. "That's taking advantage of the power of Harrods' retailing capabilities. Since the player is registered with us and we already have their address, it's a one-click transaction."
The rollout will be two-tiered. January's launch will be on a trial basis and will have limited marketing, Gambhir said. "After that, provided everything is going well and smoothly, we will go into a full marketing launch of the product. We anticipate it to be around March," he said.
Until then, the site simply tells visitors that it is closed and will reopen soon. Players can type in their e-mail addresses to be notified when it is again operational.
"That's sort of an unfortunate situation, but that is going to be the case until January," Gambhir said.
Tottenham said he would like the site to open earlier than January, but that it doesn't look like that's possible. Players, it seems, will have to wait to use what Tottenham describes as the gambling site of a store that people aspire to shop in.
"Words that come to mind when you say Harrods: Luxury, quality, service, establishment," he said. "It's a very aspirational brand."