888 Online Poker is Great, Playtech Good Things Might Come to Those Who Wait

It’s a tale of two cities when discussing recent performances of top five leading online poker ventures, 888 and Playtech.

While 888 Poker, the world’s number four online poker company in terms of overall traffic, claimed this week that poker was the primary reason for its 70 percent increase in revenue for the first half of 2012, Playtech, operator of the world’s second biggest Internet poker network, iPoker, reported less-than-stellar results on the poker side of its business.

888 caters in all forms of i-Gambling after starting off in the Web casino sector while Playtech has its roots in online gambling software.

The later is hoping that new licensees will help boost business.  Both Everest and Betfair are rumored to be considering the network.  Playtech’s overall poker revenue fell sharply by 9 percent to €9.7 million.

It was all glowing talk about Internet poker over at 888 where active player numbers climbed 63 percent, and first time depositors rose 48 percent.  The company touted its success in the newly regulated Spanish market.  Both 888 and Playtech are positioning themselves to enter the US market with 888 developing partnerships in Nevada while Playtech is lobbying in California.  The Golden State has had a tough time overcoming obstacles, mainly in the form of the state’s numerous Tribal casinos, which remain adverse to the idea of legalized Web gambling in California.  Nevada, on the other hand, has already begun granting licenses to operators after passing legislation late last year. 

iPoker is set to branch out into a second arm that will cater to high-end operators offering so-called “skins” (card rooms that tap into multiple room pools on the same network). Presumably these operators include established companies like iPoker existing partners Ladbrokes and Paddy Power.

888 Poker has proved especially innovative over this past year, introducing an array of new products including an  iPad app and Android client.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com Business