The casino in your living room
Jonathan Strock, chief operating officer of Barrière Interactive Gaming, believes that LeCroupier.com is perfectly set up to provide online players with the ultimate 'at home' casino experience.
STARTING OUT AS a croupier almost 30 years ago, the idea of consumers sitting in their living rooms and playing in a virtual casino was unthinkable back then.
Yet with almost 10% of the UK population claiming to have gambled via their computer, mobile phone or TV in 2008, traditional casinos have been keeping a watchful eye on developments within the remote gaming industry for some time.
Lucien Barrière is no exception. Changes in the French market over recent years have meant we have had to look for ways to rejuvenate our offering and attract new customers, while at the same time maintaining what we ultimately stand for as a company “ outstanding quality, service and responsibility.
LeCroupier.com is our solution. Five years after we first looked into the online market, and three years in the making, we see the launch of LeCroupier.com as the next chapter in our company’s 47-year history.
Modelled on our bricks and mortar casino in Deauville, LeCroupier.com offers online players a touch of entertainment in a classic casino environment.
New audience
It also provides an avenue for a new, international, younger audience that grew up with the internet but is unfamiliar with our brand to become immersed in our magnificent world of casinos, hotels and restaurants.
But we realise it won’t be plain sailing. We are, of course, entering a highly mature market with confident, well-established players at a time when the average consumer is curtailing his/her expenditure.
Yet despite these challenges we believe LeCroupier.com will be a success for three
reasons: it offers a new way of playing online, it leans on the knowledge and expertise of the Lucien Barrière casino group and it represents the future of the industry.
reasons: it offers a new way of playing online, it leans on the knowledge and expertise of the Lucien Barrière casino group and it represents the future of the industry.
Firstly, creating LeCroupier.com from scratch allowed us to create a unique product, tailored specifically to our brand without dependence upon external suppliers. Utilising next-generation technologies traditionally found in video games, LeCroupier.com offers superb graphics, realistic casino sounds and allows players to believe they really are in one of our casinos in France. Whether downloading the 3D client, and later this year, playing in 2D via the website or a mobile phone, LeCroupier.com customers will be able to access fast, easy-to-play games in just a few clicks.
Decades of experience
Secondly, while we lack initial brand recognition in the UK, we are in the enviable position of having almost five decades worth of industry experience behind us. We understand it is entertainment that keeps players coming back and we can mould our offering around this knowledge.
Similarly, as an established brand we provide that far-too-infrequent reassurance that we offer a safe product and will always act responsibly towards our customers.
Finally, we see not only the emergence of 3D online casinos but true synergy between online and offline products as the future of the gaming industry. In the coming years we expect our poker tournaments to be filled with people sitting in our physical casino playing against people in their living room or on a mobile phone.
Of course, for this vision to be a reality, there needs to be significant changes within French legislation. But when these changes come – and I believe they will in a not too distant future – it will be companies that can offer players this complete consumer experience that will reap the benefits.
With 40 casinos across Europe, a compelling online product and consistent developments, including poker and sports betting scheduled throughout 2009, we’re very confident.