Issue N24, 2008
June 12, 2008
Parlay Entertainment Takes on New Bingo Venture
After announcing that it will be breaking into the European bingo market through a network of its own in a joint project with Chartwell Technology, Parlay Entertainment told the industry that it has been chosen by game supplier Tain to power yet another bingo network. Tain’s bingo network will offer bingo games and services to the growing European market through its network of partners and affiliates, many of which already have strong bingo customer bases.
The new bingo network will operate out of Malta and will be launched initially through two Tain partners, Expekt and Chilli Bingo. Other Tain brands are expected to follow suit in the coming months as the network grows.
Aj Thompson, Managing Director of the Swedish based Tain Operations, said: "We have had so much interest expressed by our existing poker and casino licensees, it's a natural progression for us to offer the best bingo solution. We hope to be announcing another major partnership and another excellent new product within the coming weeks."
Steve Cook, the Managing Director for Parlay Entertainment in Europe, said: "We are absolutely delighted that Tain has chosen Parlay software to power their new bingo network. Tain has established a very strong poker network model and they see many of their brands ideally suited to leverage a bingo network and reach a new demographic. Operators such as Tain can extrapolate all their network knowledge to build a strong bingo network."
World Poker Tour Enterprises Needs a New Home
GSN, the television channel that obtained exclusive broadcasting rights for the World Poker Tour last year, has announced that it will be allowing these rights to expire without seeking renewal. This decision comes despite the fact that the World Poker Tour has contributed high ratings to GSN’s channel.
As a result, World Poker Tour Enterprises President, Steve Lipscomb is seeking other options to broadcast the seventh WPT event that kicks off in Las Vegas on July 11. “We have enjoyed watching the show and our numbers grow on GSN,” said Lipscomb. “Our hope is that we can find ways to collaborate with the network long into the future. This may allow us the first opportunity to explore diversifying content on multiple networks like most sports leagues. We have already begun those discussions and look forward to making another season of the best and most widely distributed poker programming in the world to our dedicated viewers and fans.”
GSN has not dismissed working with WPT on a partial basis and has said that it would continue to broadcast repeat episodes of the sixth successful season of the tour for the next four years. New episodes of the sixth season will continue to be shown until August, as previously planned.
GSN CEO David Goldhill said, “The World Poker Tour has been a great partner and the show continues to perform strongly on our network. We are continuing discussions with WPTE regarding how we may be able to work together – including perhaps broadcasting parts of Season VII.”
France to Open its Online Gambling Market Next Year
After increased pressure from the European Commission to open its online gambling market to private operators, France’s Budget Minister Eric Woerth told the media that his country would be making the move in 2009. The decision comes after many internal government discussions, followed by a meeting with EU Internal Market’s Commissioner, Charlie McGreevy last week.
France will seek to maintain a significant share of the €5.3 billion revenue that is generated through its gambling industry via the state run monopolies PMU and Francaise des Jeuxs. It will also demand that private operators adhere to the industry’s strict control standards in matters pertaining to minors, problem gambling and money laundering. All new entrants into the market will need to be licensed.
Massive Freeroll Tournament Announced by Poker Room
CelebPoker.com has thrilled players at every level by launching a new freeroll marathon that will put them in line to win over €20,000 every month. The tournament, appropriately named the ‘11-11 Freerolls’ because games will run every hour from 11 am. to 11 pm. seven days a week, has no qualifying requirements and anybody who is registered with the site can take part in the marathon. This is contrary to the traditional set up of freeroll marathons where players need to win a certain number of qualification events or generate a specific level of rake. CelebPoker.com has reiterated that the new marathon has no rake requirements!
“The new 11-11 promotion is great because it will allow those players who are maybe new to the game or are used to playing for Play Money to take that step up and pit their skills against real live competition,” said Dave Donavan, the Chief Executive Officer of CelebPoker.com. “Also, because these tournaments are Freerolls, it won't cost them anything to enter. And they can win some massive cash prizes (up to €5,000) or packages to enter televised poker events around the world. There's nothing quite like the thrill of competing against other live players, and hopefully our 11/11 promotion will provide new players with a safety net to give the game a go.”