For days rumors of the demise of a major supplier to the online gaming industry have swirled, but officials with GamblingSoftware.com say the company isn't going anywhere.
At the heart of the rumors was a recent memo sent to GamblingSoftware.com licensees letting them know they would soon have to find their own transaction processor. The memo led to assumptions by both operators and industry insiders that the company would be shutting down operations and was just giving its operators enough time to get a contingency plan in place.
In reality though, according to Lena Takahashi, vice president of business operations for the GamblingSoftware.com, the memo was designed simply to prepare operators for a transitional phase.
Since its inception, the software provider has hung its hat on being more than just a software supplier; it specialized in providing operators with turnkey solutions. In addition to providing casino software, the company connected licensees with credit card processors and alternative payment solutions as well as marketing assistance and hosting location aid.
In offering a turnkey solution though, the company has been forced to focus fewer of its resources on developing cutting-edge software.
Takahashi said the licensees will be weaned away from the company's assistance in the other areas of operation that are being dropped. Some operators have already completed the process and have secured their own payment processors and hosting locations. Others haven't even started it. She said there's no time schedule and no rush to make all the licensees less reliant on the company.
Takahashi spent the past week addressing rumors of the company's demise as more and more licensees were told of the new plan.
"People seem to think news is more interesting when they can add their own little twist to it," she said.
She also said that rumors seemed to pick up steam in the last few days even though some operators have known for sometime that the transition was coming.
"This wasn't a hasty or recent decision; we've been working with our licensees for some time to make the transition as smooth as possible," she said. "Of course, several clients already do their own processing and services and will continue doing business as usual."
Gambling Software.com's licensees weren't required to buy the total turnkey solution if they had existing relationships established with other processors or solution providers, Takahashi said, and they will be unaffected by the change.
The decision to get back to the basics for GamblingSoftware.com was driven by market demands, Takahashi explained.
"As the industry becomes more competitive, operators are tending to become more involved in the operational aspect of their site, and we encourage that in growing their business," she said.
Takahashi feels the revamped company will be more effective in getting new licensees. The future, she said, looks bright. The company will focus on software development, which she sees as its core competency and an even stronger option for operators in an industry that is already full of fierce competition.