Bwin veterans launch multiplayer blackjack startup
vsJack, launched in the flash format, sees players take turns occupying the dealer seat.
Veterans of operators including bwin and Bodog have collaborated on a new start-up offering blackjack players the opportunity to play against each other rather than the house.
Licensed in Curaçao, vsJack offers freeplay and real-money tables, with stakes up to 5 per hand, in which players take turns in the dealer position. It is currently only available as an in-browser flash game, also playable on Android, but the company hopes to develop an iPhone version further down the line.
vsJack spokesman David Nelson, who spent three years at bwin including a period as senior product marketing manager for poker, described the devisors of the game as “all card players ourselves” and told eGaming Review “We’re not interested in being the house, so this was a more interesting route to go down.
“Everyone knows blackjack is a popular game and others might think ‘we have a house edge, so why change it?’ We see a huge opportunity to rebuild blackjack so people can rediscover the simplicity and strategies behind the game. There is no need for the house to try to win every bet when you can build an exciting platform for players to play on.” added Nelson.
The next step for the business, whose staff barely number double figures, is to explore options in terms of multi-table and tournament blackjack, something which Nelson understands will be needed as liquidity increases.
“In poker you have no-limit, fixed-limit and so on whereas with us you just have real-money or freeplay so liquidity requirements are not as high, but it’s true that we’re going to need to go up in liquidity if we want to be successful in introducing things like tournaments,” he explained.
vsJack is also considering its options in the social gaming sphere, with Nelson suggesting a version on social networks was not far off, particularly a freeplay offering in jurisdictions in which it is yet to obtain a licence.