Interactive
SKILL GAMING - CASINO ESPORTS HOLD GAMING
Hold Gaming building the casino esports pipeline
Phillip Runyan, Founder and CEO of Hold Gaming, outlines the developer’s burgeoning interest in skill-based games, including a new genre of casino esports.
Phillip Runyan, Founder and CEO, Hold Gaming
What was the inspiration behind the formation of Hold Gaming?
My background in gaming stretches back a decade or so to when I joined DoubleDown Interactive. Prior to that I owned the original Nintendo, so to call myself a gamer would be a complete and utter lie. I came into the gaming industry through a love for casino games and having some friends who started a company made the decision easy for me.
Having seen the growth of the social casino industry first-hand, I have borne witness to its positives, such as the opportunities that exist in pre-regulated markets, as well as its inherent problems like a very low number of payers. Tere are millions of players daily, yet only two per cent actually spend money. In 2012, when we sold DoubleDown Interactive, I was keenly aware that we didn't need another social casino product in the market. Players didn't need another variation of a slot or turn-based game. Frankly, I was really bored with it all.
Around 2017, skill-based games popped up on my radar and I thought that what they were doing was neat to put it mildly. Being able to utilise skill-based legislation, laws and rules, especially in the United States, and get the staking aspect of ‘I play against you instead of the house and in return the house is going to collect a small fee for running a tournament,’ was an exciting prospect.
Many people love to play card and other casino
Many people love to play card and other casino games, so our thesis is they would also enjoy competing against other people instead of the house. That is how Hold Gaming started. We took a game that is predicated on math and probability, Blackjack, and made it into the first skill-based blackjack game that allows you to compete against your friends or other competitors in head to head challenges for real cash prizes.
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games, so our thesis is they would also enjoy competing against other people instead of the house. Tat is how Hold Gaming started. We took a game that is predicated on math and probability, Blackjack, and made it into the first skill-based blackjack game that allows you to compete against your friends or other competitors in head-to-head challenges for real cash prizes.
Interestingly enough, we embrace card counters - we want people who can do math and probability faster than their opponent because they're going to win, and it also encourages others to get better. In the two years since we launched the initial version of Blackjack Fire, we
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