“They have never had the mega-hit game, and we actually like that,” Churchill Downs CEO William Carstanjen said in a conference call in reference to the famous race track-owning company about buying tech company Big Fish Games.
Is this as odd a fit as it sounds Looking at Churchill Downs’ other holdings, no. The company owns six casinos, a video poker business, as well as an online wagering system among other things. Based in Seattle, Big Fish Games has grown to be one of the largest privately-held technology companies in its area.
Paul Thelen, founder and CEO of Big Fish is calling the aquisition a “great cultural fit for us.” He went on to say more about the growth of Big Fish and what this purchase would mean.
“We are extremely proud of the company we have built over the last twelve years. Churchill Downs is a company with a commitment to interactive entertainment and a track record of growth and performance. We believe Big Fish is now positioned to become an even greater force in the casual, mid-core and social casino mobile and online games industry,” said Thelen.
According to a report from Eilers Research, casino games is big business — worth about $2.7 billion worldwide and Big Fish is the 5th largest social casino games maker.
