An important question that has existed within the online gambling industry for some time is, is there a market for online casino games that lack actual stakes? More importantly, is there a profit to be made from such a market. There was a time when most in the industry would quickly respond no and dismiss the entire idea as a fool’s errand.

Arcade Casino Games

The big developers originally introduced free-to-play modes on slot machines and other casino games as a way for gamblers to try these experiences before risking actual money. Something unexpected happened, however. The arcade versions of casino games began attracting a different kind of player.

At first, the value wasn’t obvious to many casino sites, and some even worked hard to discourage that type of player. There were other sites, however, that embraced this new client base and even created arcade rooms that catered specifically to them. Then they set about finding alternative ways to generate a profit from this new base.

All the Buzz

Bee Cave Games is a software developer that emerged from that new market. Its mission was to create nothing but free-to-play casino games and to make them available on social platforms like Facebook. When the company first launched, there was a great deal of skepticism, but Bee Cave Games experienced almost immediate success and recently announced that it was able to generate an addition $1.9M in seed funding.

Virtual Currency

Bee Cave Games isn’t the only casino company based entirely on free-to-play games. It is, however, experiencing a unique level of success, and that success is likely correlated to its concept of virtual currency. With a traditional free-to-play slot machine, for instance, the player has no real connection to the game. With Bee Cave, however, the player has a persisted virtual bankroll, and thus their wins and losses have a very real effect on their gameplay experience.

Social Makes It Better

Another important aspect of the success Bee Cave Games is experiencing is the social element. When a player wins a big progressive jackpot, not only is the pot added to their bankroll, but there’s an announcement across the social network, and the player’s status on the leaderboards rises. It’s an intriguing and effective approach, and the rest of the industry is certainly taking notice now.