Definitive information regarding the health of the online poker world can be hard to come by at times. When Bwin.party digital entertainment plc and 888 Holdings, two publicly traded firms with significant poker operations, reported their results this week it gave new insight for the two concerns and the industry as a whole.
While overall revenues were up at Bwin.party, poker revenue fell 11 percent in the first half of 2011 to £104.9 million from £116.5 million in the first half of 2010. Executives painted a more positive picture of future trends.CEO Norbert Teufelberger explained “The suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s gaming license at the end of June removed a major competitor in poker and consequently we have seen an improvement in player numbers and average daily revenues. In addition, our launch of cash game poker and certain casino games in Italy has started well, even though this is the seasonally weak trading period.” He estimated that 15% of Full Tilt Poker's client base had migrated to Bwin.party. It's entirely possible that with a 33 percent jump in new sign ups that revenues could increase for the second half if Full Tilt Poker is unable to return as a major competitor.
Teufelberger went on to state that he feels there is a 30% chance that online poker legislation is passed in the United States and he is gearing his company up for the possibility by establishing pacts with several states.
888 Holdings, on the other hand, had current positive news to share showing that revenues from poker operations were up 22 percent to $24 million from $20 million in the same period last year. Company officials were quite pleased as poker has become its strongest performing product. Large credit is given to the launch of its new Poker 6 platform in 2010. 888 Holdings have been aggressively promoting their brand in a competitive poker market and those efforts seem to be paying off.“We have witnessed a very significant upsurge in new poker player recruitment, with a remarkable increase of 90% in active customers, compared to this time last year. 888 now enjoys fifth position in the global liquidity rankings. This surge in activity has been the result of constant investment in our poker strategy to build a platform that appeals to players of all abilities."
While overall revenues were up at Bwin.party, poker revenue fell 11 percent in the first half of 2011 to £104.9 million from £116.5 million in the first half of 2010. Executives painted a more positive picture of future trends.CEO Norbert Teufelberger explained “The suspension of Full Tilt Poker’s gaming license at the end of June removed a major competitor in poker and consequently we have seen an improvement in player numbers and average daily revenues. In addition, our launch of cash game poker and certain casino games in Italy has started well, even though this is the seasonally weak trading period.” He estimated that 15% of Full Tilt Poker's client base had migrated to Bwin.party. It's entirely possible that with a 33 percent jump in new sign ups that revenues could increase for the second half if Full Tilt Poker is unable to return as a major competitor.
Teufelberger went on to state that he feels there is a 30% chance that online poker legislation is passed in the United States and he is gearing his company up for the possibility by establishing pacts with several states.
888 Holdings, on the other hand, had current positive news to share showing that revenues from poker operations were up 22 percent to $24 million from $20 million in the same period last year. Company officials were quite pleased as poker has become its strongest performing product. Large credit is given to the launch of its new Poker 6 platform in 2010. 888 Holdings have been aggressively promoting their brand in a competitive poker market and those efforts seem to be paying off.“We have witnessed a very significant upsurge in new poker player recruitment, with a remarkable increase of 90% in active customers, compared to this time last year. 888 now enjoys fifth position in the global liquidity rankings. This surge in activity has been the result of constant investment in our poker strategy to build a platform that appeals to players of all abilities."
