POKER NEWS

PartyGaming and bwin Merge to Create World’s Largest Online Gambling Company

By Robbie Strazynski
August 04, 2010

In a deal valued a just shy of $2 billion, two online gaming giants, PartyGaming and bwin, have announced a merger that will create the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling company.

casino poker online

Image credit: gamerlimit.com

Similar to two airlines combining their transit routes, bwin’s sports betting strengths add to PartyGaming’s forte as a provider of online poker, bingo, and casino games. Moreover, since there is currently some overlap between the 2 companies’ gaming offerings, once combined, the new company expects significant operational savings of up to 55 million euros.

The CEOs of the two companies, Norbert Teufelberger and Jim Ryan, will be co-chairing the yet-to-be-named new entity.

Since both companies are publicly held, shareholders will be called upon to approve the merger in the first quarter of 2011. The new company will be incorporated in Gibraltar and listed on London’s FTSE stock exchange.

The question on the minds of many people who follow the online poker industry is what impact this merger will have on online poker traffic and – of course – the players themselves. Will the new, unified bwin/Party conglomerate be able to compete with some of the larger online poker room sites n0w (here’s looking at you, PokerStars)?

What’s certain is that after a merger of this size, there’s a lot of upside potential as far as online poker is concerned. Assuming the merged company invests marketing dollars in online poker promotions, it could find itself to be a major player in the industry.

Another question is how the online gambling competition will react to the merger. Will we see additional mergers or acquisitions in the near future that would enable the resultant larger companies to compete on level footing? Or, perhaps, will this merger end up being a blip on the online poker radar in the long-term? Only time will tell. We’ll be here reporting the online poker news and developments for you as they happen.

0

LIKE THIS STORY?
GET OUR BEST ONES IN YOUR INBOX EACH MONTH!

Sign up
blog-author1
Written By.

Robbie Strazynski

Robbie founded Cardplayerlifestyle.com in 2009. A veteran member of the poker media corps, in addition to writing and video presenting, Robbie has hosted multiple poker podcasts over the years, including Top Pair, the Red Chip Poker Podcast, The Orbit, and the CardsChat Podcast. In 2019, Robbie translated the autobiography of Poker Hall of Famer Eli […]

Comments

Join The Discussion

Latest Post

Tags

Pokercoaching All Access

The Travel Shark

WPTGlobal Welcome Offer

Don’t miss our top stories, exclusive offers and giveaways!