Two Way Hard Three | Las Vegas Casino & Design Blog

September 16, 2011

incuBET: Andrew Pascal's New Venture

Posted by Hunter

Sometimes when a nugget or two shakes loose, the next thing you know you've got an avalanche of new info coming in. Thanks to Twitter, Google and some sharp sleuthing from VT super-boss Chuckmonster, some additional details on Andrew Pascal's new social/gaming/tech/entertainment company have come to light.

Meet incuBET (come on guys, spring for the dot-com domain too).

According to the SEC, Pascal, along with former WagerWorks exec Paul Matthews and a third partner, Humam Saknini have raised $5 million for their new venture.

My original thought was that these guys were adding some social elements to existing slot and video-based games - say maybe coming up with new ideas and partnering with an existing device maker like IGT (WagerWorks was sold to IGT and Matthews went on to work there so relationships likely run deep). The sparse incuBET homepage almost makes it sound like they want to inject wagering into 'casual gaming', which is the same code phrase used for games on Facebook, the iPhone and iPad.

Could this be a bigger play than originally thought? Obviously, adding betting to Facebook games wouldn't be legal in the United States under current law... and changing that sounds like a mighty big job... If I was incuBET, I'd at least be thinking about that possibility for the long term, while working under existing law to make slots more appealing to younger gamblers in jurisdictions that allow them.

Will we see something from these guys at G2E? That's only weeks away - time will tell but I'd keep an eye on this group.


Categories: Business of Gaming, Device Manufacturers and Games


Comments

Read archived comments (4 so far)
September 17, 2011 1:56 AM Posted by Ted Newkirk

$5 million isn't much these days.

But if that helps them raise more capital, what the hell. It may fly.

September 17, 2011 7:53 AM Posted by mike_ch

Maybe in the US, but Facebook has more accounts than people in the US. Back in the day of city-based networks, it seemed like either Toronto or London was #1.

I dunno, just a possibility.

September 17, 2011 8:00 AM Posted by Hunter

You're right. They're still in steath mode though and for a venture in that stage, it's an average amount.

October 28, 2011 7:22 PM Posted by Noel

I still chuckle at the term casual gaming. :)

Seriously, incuBET does not have to reinvent the wheel. They just need to jazz it up, add a few bells and whistles, say the right things in marketing it, and people will lap it up.