Individual electronic player stations at gaming centers provide high-speed bingo gaming by connecting participants at numerous locations via private intranet. Multimedia Games originated as two companies, Gamma International, Ltd. Gordon Graves cofounded both companies to provide technology and services for the gaming industry, undergoing dramatic growth with federal approval of gaming on Native American land.
Gamma International, established in , produced MegaBingo, a high stakes bingo game transmitted daily via closed-circuit satellite television and, simultaneously, over a data telecommunications network and an audio conference call network. Gamma designed MegaBingo to provide a low-cost operation for high-stakes bingo at charity bingo halls and Native American gaming centers. By linking several facilities into one game, hosted by Creek Nation Tulsa Bingo in Tulsa, Oklahoma, MegaBingo allowed participating bingo halls to offer larger jackpots, thus increasing the incentive to play.
By early the company provided bingo games to 54 bingo halls on Native American reservations in 17 states. The success of MegaBingo led to the development of a similar show, MegaCash, broadcast during Saturday and Sunday matinee gaming. Graves intended TBN to operate games specifically for the home television market.
Its first game versions, however, were unprofitable. The company licensed a bingo game to Bingo McLaughlin, Inc. TBN financed the acquisition with secured notes and warrants and formed a subsidiary, MegaBingo, Inc. Launched in May , the show allowed viewers to hire a proxy to participate in the Sunday night MegaBingo game; each of the six participating bingo halls provided proxy players.
The customer arranged for a surrogate player by mail, telephone, or in-person registration at the bingo hall. In early July TBN began offering in-person registration through more than authorized retail stores, with sales averaging 60 proxy plays per outlet during the first week.
The Million Dollar TV MegaBingo show, introduced in the Tulsa and Oklahoma City markets, included a trivia game with contestant participation, Native American news, and a rebroadcast of the MegaBingo game played earlier that evening, so that participating viewers could see if they won. MGAM developed two proprietary technologies, MegaMania, a game software, and Betnet, a communications infrastructure designed for business-to-business applications. Using these new technologies, the company sought to change the dynamic of bingo gaming.
In early MGAM began to offer bingo faces on hand-held, electronic bingo machines as an option to paper cards for the MegaBingo game. The machine displayed bingo faces on an LED flat screen, which a player marked from a keyboard.
On the electronic system, a customer can play more cards simultaneously than with paper cards, resulting in higher level of play and increased revenues at bingo halls. The electronic game also attracted younger players to bingo. In a distribution contract with International Lottery, Inc. MegaBingo Lite allowed the smaller halls an opportunity to link into one bingo game and to entice new player participation with larger jackpots.
The combination of Gamma and TBN proved successful. Wagering revenues for participating bingo halls increased more than 20 percent. The company's Betnet technology provided the communications network that linked stations at participating gaming centers, allowing players to compete for larger jackpots through a greater number of participants.
In addition, MegaMania involved strategic decisions to increase the players' chances of winning, with prizes available every 20 seconds. The game proved to be quite popular, with more than 70 percent of the machines being played at any time. The electronic playing stations, manufactured by Video King, were designed to allow machines from other manufacturers to network with the system. The popularity of the MegaMania game resulted in a backlog of orders for the electronic play stations.
A dramatic increase in revenues during fiscal was attributed to the success of MegaMania. At the end of fiscal , 1, electronic player stations operated at 24 Native American gaming facilities in six states. Players joined the American Gaming Network at betnet. Payments were made on the web site with either a credit card or bank account, by telephone credit card payment, or check by mail. The game was not available for viewing in realtime, but could be downloaded immediately afterward. Participation was open to residents of all states except Hawaii, Arkansas, and Utah, where bingo gaming was illegal.
MGAM hoped to introduce faster-paced versions of bingo to the Internet to attract younger players. The U. Attorney's office challenged MegaMania's status as a Class II game, considering it to be too different from bingo. Changes included interactive daubing bingo faces on a touch screen, and to lower the cost and prize pattern of the game.
Throughout the company continued to receive orders for the MegaMania games, resulting in record sales. The company also added bonus prizes such as cars and trips to Las Vegas.
Business type: Domestic Limited-Liability Company. Entity State: DE. Registration: Mar 13, Business type: Domestic Corporation. Agent: Corp 95, Llc. Registration: Jun 4, Status date: Dec 27, Illustration: 5S Attorney: Michael B. Employee: Russ Herman. Status: Inactive. Registration: May 16, Members 7 : Neil E. Hillman President, Treasurer, inactive Registration: Jun 15, Agent: Joel M. Registration: Mar 5, Normand Secretary, Treasurer, inactive. Normand Manager, inactive. Agent: Prosperity Education Institute, Llc.
Registration: Oct 25, Registration: Aug 13, Members 3 : Neil E. Jenkins Secretary, inactive Paul J. Johnson Treasurer, inactive Alan Maiss President, inactive. Las Vegas , NV Registration: Oct 16, Business type: Domestic Bca.
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