Months after completing its billion-dollar acquisition of Big Fish Games, Aristocrat is making some big changes to the executive team. This week, the company has appointed Jeff Karp as its Managing Director and President. Karp has an extensive resumé in the gaming sector, having held executive roles at EA, GSN Games and Zynga.
He has aided in the development of many top-grossing games and helped to launch many successful product lines. In his most recent role, Karp worked as the Chief Executive for the PLAY Division of Sports Illustrated. In this role, he worked on engagement and developed sports platforms for the youth market.
“I am honored to be working with such a creative and talented group, who are focused on enhancing life through exceptional play,” Karp says. “Big Fish is a content-rich company and its employees are passionate about making great games that bring joy and fun to millions of players around the world”.
Diversifying The Aristocrat Brand
Aristocrat has been a leader in the casino gambling market for decades. The company has never lost its thirst for developing innovative new technology that appeals to modern gamers, but has recently decided that it is time to venture into a market outside of the gambling realm. That’s why Aristocrat spent $1 billion to acquire Big Fish Games, a leading social gaming provider from Seattle, USA.
While the company has released its own Big Fish Casino, it has dozens of other games under its belt, such as Match 3 titles, Puzzles, Word Games and Brain Teasers. Aristocrat has its own social casino app, Hearts of Vegas, but there is no harm in acquiring one of its top-grossing competitors. Since 2012, Big Fish Casino has stayed in the Top 50 of the Apple App Market while Jackpot Magic is in the Top 100.
This is definitely a wise choice for Aristocrat to get more involved in social gaming. We are starting to see more of a crossover between social games and casino games, and we are sure that this will be the start of a trend in the online pokies world.
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