AGS Acquires In Bet Table Games Manufacturer, Company Hopes to Reverse Dismal Stock Performance

Posted on: August 20, 2019, 08:16h. 

Last updated on: August 20, 2019, 01:50h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

AGS, a Las Vegas-based gaming equipment provider, has acquired the remaining assets of In Bet, a smaller table games manufacturer headquartered in New Jersey, for an undisclosed sum.

AGS In Bet gaming manufacturer
In a crowded gaming manufacturer space, AGS is expanding its portfolio. (Image: PlayAGS)

AGS teamed up with In Bet in 2017 to bring most of the latter’s games into its portfolio. This week’s full takeover brings In Bet’s three remaining products – Dragon Poker, a four-card deck poker game with an Asian theme, 3 Card Blitz, a flush-based game where the player and dealer compete to get the closest hand to 31, and Double Down Blackjack, a twist on the classic game that simply involves obtaining the highest three-card score against the dealer.

We have had a strong partnership with the In Bet team for a number of years, and in 2017 we bolstered our relationship by acquiring five of their dynamic table progressives that continue to drive business for us today,” said John Hemberger, AGS senior vice president of table products.

Under the acquisition, In Bet founder Ron LaDuca will join AGS in a leadership capacity involved in sales.

Pennsylvania Partnership Fine

AGS is a nationwide provider of casino games – and with global distribution – but it still plans to use LaDuca’s close relationships with many premiere gaming resorts on the East Cost to further expand its reach.

In Bet games are currently in such notable properties as MGM National Harbor and Maryland Live!, the state’s two largest gross gaming revenue winners. The company also has footage at the two tribal casinos in Connecticut – Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

In Bet is additionally at the Valley Forge casino in suburban Philadelphia, and that’s where its products cost AGS a substantial amount of money in June 2018.

The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) ruled at the time that the company failed to disclose its intellectual property purchase agreement with In Bet that allowed it to alter in-game wagering options on several games, including Dragon Poker. The PGCB fined AGS $351,000, and In Bet $56,000.

Horrible Stock

AGS’ takeover of In Bet comes just six months after the company bought Integrity Gaming Corp, also a designer and supplier of electronic table products.

Gaming manufacturers are hoping to benefit from casinos updating their technology to incorporate more innovative offerings that seem to better attract younger patrons. The millennial remains the big question – as the generation that now accounts for the largest percentage of workers in the US labor force is a bit apathetic towards traditional slot machines.

AGS was one of Credit Suisse analyst Cameron McKnight’s nine gaming industry recommended stocks a year ago this month. But his forecast was very wrong.

AGS shares were trading at $30.85 on August 20, 2018. Today, they’re down more than two percent on the In Bet buyout to around $10.20 – a staggering 67 percent loss. McKnight is no longer with Credit Suisse, and has moved to Capital One, where he’s overseeing investment research on gaming, lodging, and leisure.

Aristocrat Leisure Senior VP of Marketing and Gaming Operations Siobhan Lane believes millennials will eventually come around. She said as they mature, so will their appetite for gaming.