Area gamemaker Shoutz partners with Pitbull for mobile arcade

Area tech firm Shoutz Inc. has launched a mobile gaming subsidiary that’s working with celebrity recording artist Pitbull.

Overland Park-based Shoutz Inc. recently announced the founding of GameRail, which partnered with Pitbull to offer a variety of casino-style games in both English and Spanish. The PitBull Arcade — which features the artist’s image — offers  slots, arcade games and instant-win games.

Shoutz and GameRail hope to capitalize on the quickly growing mobile and social gaming category. Shoutz CEO Jim Mueller said that social gaming generated more than $4 billion revenue in the U.S. in 2015 and more than 85 million average annual users.

Mueller said Gamerail plans to target the 120 million adults in the United States who play the lottery.

“Mobile and social gaming is one of the highest-growth categories on the web today,” Mueller said in a release. “With GameRail, we are pioneering the social-lottery gaming sector by offering a collection of free-to-play interactive game themes.”

GameRail is a cross-device gaming platform, meaning it can be accessed via smartphone, tablet or computer web browser. The company plans to release an app in late 2016. In total, GameRail will feature 50 free games such as lottery, slots, card games, bingo and more.

GameRail generates revenue from in-game purchases and the sale of advertising. It also allows players to redeem tokens for gift cards to various retailers.

Formerly an Austin-based firm, Shoutz furthered its local footprint after it acquired Leawood-based Front Flip in 2015. Front Flip — which has more than 1 million downloads of its customer loyalty app — offers its users gifts and rewards to participating businesses. Shoutz develops mobile gaming with consumer engagement and loyalty programs within the retail, media and entertainment industries.