Leading gambling industry firm Entain is reportedly seeking a buyer for its Partypoker brand. Anonymous sources said that the once market-leading platform is no longer a core focus.
Entain, formerly known as GVC Holdings, has grown into a multi-billion pound company that operates a multitude of brands which are household names, including names such as Bwin, Coral, and Ladbrokes.
Partypoker was once the busiest online poker platform prior to the unpopular Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA 2006).
But in recent years traffic has dwindled, even though the platform has undergone a raft of changes which were thought to be popular.
Partypoker was one of the few sites which embraced a shift towards the banning of HUDs to allow recreational players to compete more effectively.
Earnings+More Substack reported that the asking price is likely to be “a tiny fraction of the value of the business when it floated in 2005”
Why Does Entain want to sell PartyPoker?
The landscape of the gambling industry is in a constant state of flux. Once lucrative brands can suddenly become a shadow of their former selves.
Entain now also looks to be more focussed in the direction of its casino and sportsbook products.
Those who have been around the poker world for a while will remember that PartyGaming took a massive $105 million hit in a non-prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice prior to Black Friday.
More recently, Entain agreed to cough up an eye-watering £615 million to the British HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) after admitting one of its subsidiaries in Turkey engaged in bribery from 2011 to 2017.
This controversy ended up costing Entain CEO Jette Nygaard-Andersen her job.
So maybe PartyPoker is just collateral damage in what is a standard restructuring of a business worth almost five billion British pounds.
Even though PartyPoker now ranks outside of the industry top 10 for traffic, it is still one of the top platforms available today.
A decision to exit grey area markets, particularly Russia, over the past few years has contributed to a dramatic shrinking but that does not detract from the quality of its offerings.
A fantastic loyalty scheme is backed up by wonderful software that allows slick gameplay. PartyPoker figurehead Rob Yong attempted to move heaven and Earth to give the players what they wanted, and for the most part they got it.
For now, we have no idea who would be interested in such a purchase, but with such a respected brand hitting the market we expect potential suitors to engage in talks before long.
PartyPoker has a huge customerbase even if traffic figures aren’t what they once were. Surely there will be some entity with ambition who is interested in attempting to resurrect the once industry giant.
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