Pragmatic Play has officially broken into the live poker vertical, launching Casino Hold’em this week and confirming Jacks or Better Draw Poker for early July release.
“Poker is an exciting addition to Pragmatic Play’s Live Casino portfolio,” said Chief Operating Officer Irina Cornides. “Featuring fast-paced gameplay, jackpot wins of up to 20,000×, and Smart Studio customisation, Casino Hold’em and Jacks or Better are set to bring a new dynamic to online casinos.”
The house is waiting in Casino Hold’em ♠️ Beat the dealer’s five-card hand or take a chance on the AA+ or fixed jackpot side bets …
— Pragmatic Play (@PragmaticPlay) June 20, 2025
How the new games work
- Casino Hold’em plays like the hugely popular table-game adaptation of Texas Hold’em: players take on the dealer, using their two hole cards plus five community cards to form the best five-card hand.
- Jacks or Better Draw Poker (due in July) restores the classic draw-poker format. Players receive five cards and may hold or discard any number before a final draw, targeting at least a pair of jacks.
Both titles feature an optional Jackpot Side Bet with payouts up to 20,000× for premium hands (straight, four of a kind, straight flush) that land on the flop. According to Pragmatic Play, the top prize is mathematically expected to hit roughly once every 45 days, injecting regular headline moments for operators and streamers alike.
Smart Studio: white-label poker at speed
The games are built inside Pragmatic Play’s Smart Studio framework, allowing casinos to reskin tables, felt, dealer uniforms and on-screen graphics without a lengthy bespoke build. That same toolkit has already delivered customised blackjack and roulette environments for brands such as Stake and Betsson; now operators can extend that look-and-feel consistency to poker.
Why poker—and why now?
- Growing appetite for live poker variants: Evolution, Playtech and Ezugi have all reported steady traffic to Casino Hold’em and Three-Card Poker. Entering the space lets Pragmatic Play compete for a slice of that audience while cross-selling from its flagship game shows such as Treasure Island.
- Content-plus-customisation strategy: Smart Studio lowers time-to-market for branded tables, a major draw for Tier-1 operators seeking differentiation in regulated markets.
- Jackpot engagement loops: The 20,000× carrot mirrors the provider’s success with Drops & Wins and builds a retention mechanic into every hand.
Background: a busy Q2 for Pragmatic Play
The poker launch lands in a quarter already heavy with expansion news:
- Latin America growth – A fresh distribution agreement with Más 1×2 brings the supplier’s slots, live casino and virtual sports to one of Peru’s fastest-growing online operators, reinforcing Pragmatic Play’s “single-API, multi-product” pitch.
- Smart Studio roll-outs – In May, the company extended its Smart Studio solution to regional brand Juega en Línea, delivering bespoke live-casino titles tailored for Spanish-speaking audiences.
- Award-season momentum – With the EGR B2B Awards set for 3 July 2025, Pragmatic Solutions (the sister platform) is shortlisted for Platform of the Year, underscoring the group’s wider technology credentials.
The supplier’s release cadence—up to eight new slots a month alongside bingo, virtual sports and live casino—offers partners a constant stream of fresh content while minimising integration overheads.
Competitive landscape
Pragmatic Play now joins Evolution and Playtech in offering multi-variant live poker. Evolution’s Casino Hold’em remains the category benchmark, but Pragmatic Play’s version differentiates itself through:
- Higher top-line jackpot (20,000× vs. Evolution’s 100:1 standard AA+ payout).
- Smart Studio branding, letting operators match table design to existing roulette or blackjack rooms—an option not natively available in Evolution’s generic lobby.
- One-click side bets, designed for mobile portrait play, dovetailing with Pragmatic Play’s strong mobile slot audience.
For players, the practical implication is a familiar ruleset amplified by jackpot volatility—high-rollers get outsized upside, while casuals enjoy low-stake side-bet sweats.
What this means for operators?
- Cross-sell potential – Operators running Pragmatic Play slots can promote Casino Hold’em via Drops & Wins free-round campaigns, turning reel spinners into live-table patrons.
- Streamer-friendly – Frequent jackpot hits (< 2 months apart on average) create regular “big-win” clips—social-media gold that drives organic reach.
- Regulatory efficiency – Because the poker games sit inside Pragmatic Play’s existing live-casino certification umbrella (MGA, UKGC, ONJN, etc.), licensees can activate quickly across multiple jurisdictions.
Looking ahead
With Jacks or Better debuting in July and more poker variants teased for H2 2025, Pragmatic Play is signalling a long-term commitment to the vertical. Expect further innovations—progressive jackpots, side-bet leaderboards, even mixed-reality overlays—to keep the supplier’s offer competitive.
For now, Casino Hold’em brings a proven table classic into Pragmatic Play’s live-dealer universe, wrapped in a jackpot mechanic and a customisable skin that should resonate with both operators and players.
CasinosOnline.com will continue to monitor Pragmatic Play’s live-casino roadmap and provide hands-on reviews of the new poker titles when they hit partner lobbies next month.
