The online gaming space has gotten interesting of late, with Uproar.com acquiring everyone under the sun and new competitors coming out of the woodwork.
One of the latest entrants into the space is Blackjack.com. While this site differs from category leader Uproar.com in that it is looking to derive the majority of its revenue from unlucky gamblers, it is still going after the same target audience — the game player.
“It's a huge industry,” said Ron Clayton, marketing director at Blackjack.com. “On our site, you don't have to place wagers. You can play for free. Our advantage is that we have both models.”
Blackjack.com expects that only about 20 percent of its players will participate in the free games. “We'll probably be profitable faster,” he said.
Although online gambling has been viewed in a somewhat sordid light, Clayton said, “There's no taboo to it. Everything we're doing is legal. It's a form of entertainment. I don't know anywhere in the U.S. where you can't get on a bus and go to an Indian reservation.”
The company is based in Antigua, one of six countries that allow online gaming sites. Congress has been working overtime to ban such sites, but the most recent bill targeting these businesses, the Kyl bill, was shot down. “The Kyl bill came up last month and it didn't pass,” Clayton said.
The site has signed more than 30,000 members since its inception in July with limited marketing. One million hands of blackjack were played on the site in its first week alone.
Meanwhile, the leading gaming site, Uproar.com, announced this week that it acquired Ibetcha.com for $1.3 million in stock. Ibetcha.com allows users to place bets on virtually any topic to win cash and prizes. No real cash exchanges hands. Instead, users wager Betcha-Bucks. Uproar.com's revenue is derived from advertising dollars.
Last month, Uproar.com also acquired one of its chief competitors, iwin.com. This brought its player base to 9.2 million people. The fact that the big are getting bigger does not bother Blackjack.com, which advertises on Uproar.com.
“We have banners and buttons on Uproar.com and Gamesville.com,” Clayton said. “We will be anywhere there's games targeting those eyeballs.”
