Harrison, New York-based investment group MGT Capital Investments, Inc. has announced that its majority owned subsidiary MGT Interactive, LLC has acquired online poker assets from Gioia Systems LLC, the inventor and owner of a proprietary method of card shuffling for the online poker market.
Trademarked under the name Real Deal Poker, the technology uses patented software shuffling machines, along with permutation re-sequencing, allowing for the creation of up to 16,000 decks per minute in real time. Each newly created deck is then “dealt” for a hand of online poker, complete with burn cards and the option for a player to “cut” the deck.
In addition to providing a higher level of realism, each deck provides an authentic randomized deal and full audit trail; both missing from currently used random number generating algorithms.
The Real Deal system overcomes the inaccuracies inherent in current virtual dealing practices by creating unique decks formed by real cards that have been randomly shuffled first in a process that can be verified by players and regulatory authorities, said a company spokesman Wednesday.
In addition to poker, Real Deal can be adapted to other card games such as blackjack and baccarat.
The acquisition includes 7 U.S. patents and several Internet URL addresses, including www.RealDealPoker.com.
Robert Ladd, CEO of MGT said: “As U.S. states begin to allow betting on online poker, we expect Real Deal to offer regulators the only way to ensure fairness and allow for full transparency for any card dealt online.
“We expect to partner with casinos as they offer online poker to adults in Nevada and New Jersey. We also plan to license the Real Deal technology to other legal online poker sites that wish to offer their customers a more true-life poker experience.”
MGT Capital Investments and its subsidiaries are engaged in the business of acquiring, developing and monetising assets in the online and mobile gaming space.
MGT Sports, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary, owns a majority interest in FanTD LLC, an online daily fantasy sports wagering business. FanTD LLC owns and operates FanThrowdown.com, one of the leading daily fantasy sports websites.
MGT Gaming, Inc., a majority owned subsidiary, owns U.S. Patent No. 7,892,088 relating to casino gaming systems. In November 2012, MGT Gaming filed a patent infringement suit against Caesars Entertainment Corporation, MGM Resorts International, Inc., WMS Gaming (a subsidiary of WMS Industries, Inc.), Penn National Gaming, Inc., and Aruze Gaming America, Inc. (see previous report).
In addition, the company owns Hammercat Studios, a publisher and developer of videogames for digital distribution in the mobile app space.