Barcrest in mobile games venture

 Barcrest, the gambling company, is rolling out a range of slot machine-style games for mobile phones after its parent company agreed an investment deal with interactive games developer Million-2-1.

The funding deal between IGT-UK and Million-2-1 will allow the technology company to accelerate plans to develop a range of Barcrest-branded slot-style games for the mobile market. The first of these games, a mobile version of fruit machine “Hi 5”, launches this week. The game features progressive jackpots and special features similar to those on land-based machines.

Chris Sheffield, chief executive of Million-2-1, says that mobile-based games are now being developed with similar features to their land-based counterparts, and that there is a growing demand for them.

He says: “Mobile gaming is now a very real prospect for the big gaming companies such as IGT-UK and as the market matures we will begin to see the rollout of more sophisticated products for the mobile phone.”

IGT-UK says the move is part of its strategy to find new markets for Barcrest game content.