Saturday, October 25, 2025
HomeGameOnline Poker: IPOs in the Cards?

Online Poker: IPOs in the Cards?

Date:

Related stories

The Art of Anime Silicon Dolls: Craftsmanship and Detail

Introduction to Anime Silicon Dolls Anime silicon dolls are a...

How Situs Gacor Rajadewa138 Helps You Win More Often

In the fast-growing world of online gaming, players are...

Στοίχημα live: Πώς να αποφύγεις τον αυθορμητισμό

Το στοίχημα live είναι ένα από τα πιο δυναμικά...

Best Deals on Used Bulldozers – Nationwide Inventory

Across construction sites, farms, and land development projects, bulldozers...

Elevate Your Project with Mantikore Cranes: Premier Crane Hire in the Southern Highlands

When it comes to tackling construction, landscaping, or industrial...
spot_img

Investors looking to get into Internet gaming may soon be able to place their bets on Europe’s PartyGaming. Other sites could follow

To investors hoping to cash in on the online poker craze, a public offering of the world’s biggest Poker Online room looks like a solid bet. That explains the excitement surrounding the suggestion that PartyGaming, the Gibraltar-based Internet gambling operator, is considering a listing this year on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s Partypoker.com Web site claims about half of the worldwide market, according to Pokerpulse.com, a Web site that tracks the industry. Pokerpulse estimates that the game will generate $2 billion in profits this year.

Speculation about a PartyGaming initial public offering took off in January, when the 8-year-old company, formerly known as iGlobalMedia, announced that it was undertaking a strategic review, including the possibility of offering shares for sale to investors.

ANTE FROM TV.  The timing could be right, analysts say, as British investors have shown a recent appetite for stocks associated with online poker. In October, Sportingbet, a British sports-betting and casino-gaming Web site, spent $300 million to buy the ParadisePoker Web site, now ranked third among poker sites and accounting for about 10% of the market. Since then, Sportingbet’s share price has more than doubled, ascending from the equivalent of $2.18 to $5.86.

In another sign of interest in the industry, NETeller, an online money-transfer service that derives 80% of its business from facilitating payments for gaming and betting sites, has seen its share price triple since it listed in London in April.

“What ParadisePoker did was make all the institutional investors’ eyes widen and go, ‘This is actually a very profitable business, with very, very strong growth,'” says Greg Feehely, a leisure analyst at Altium Securities in London.

Popularized by the success of such televised tournaments as the World Poker Tour and the World Series of Poker, online poker has become the fastest-growing segment of the Internet gaming industry. According to the Vancouver-based Pokerpulse’s estimates, more than $190 million is bet in online poker games every day, up from $11 million two years ago. During that time, the number of active players has grown from about 83,000 to nearly 1.9 million.

PROFIT MARGIN JACKPOT.  Most gambling sites are privately held, and figures on the financials of poker operations are scarce. But those in the industry say the game generates a lot of cash without the overhead of casinos or the risk associated with bookmaking. In online poker rooms, players bet against one another. Operators earn money by taking a small percentage — known as the “rake” — of the bets as well as a cut of online tournament fees.

It’s a high-margin business. On Feb. 22, Sportingbet reported that in the six months through the end of January, the ParadisePoker site contributed $15.3 million in operating profit on $23.9 million in sales. Overall, the company made $49.6 million in operating profit before exceptional items on poker, casino games, and $1.5 billion of sports wagers. Notably, in the six-month period, the daily poker rake grew 114%, to $261,668. “This really is an enormous industry,” says Nigel Payne, chief executive of Sportingbet.

Yet the online gaming industry isn’t without risk. Although Americans make up the majority of online gamblers — estimates of the exact proportion vary from between 60% to 80% — U.S. prosecutors have deemed online gambling illegal. The U.S. Justice Dept. has written warning letters to many American Web sites that accept advertising for gambling sites. Because of these prohibitions, these sites operate offshore, and some refuse sports bets from Americans.

AMERICANS WON’T FOLD.  In contrast, Britain has proven more open to the industry. In 2001, London abolished a tax on bets in order to encourage local bookmakers, including those with Web sites, to stay ashore. Britons can legally gamble online but cannot operate Internet casino games, thanks to old laws that require the game to take place in the same room as the player.

British companies that run poker sites now locate the operations offshore but are not otherwise penalized by the government. Proposed legislation under debate in Parliament would legalize online gaming and establish a new commission to regulate it. “We want them here,” says Anthony Wright, spokesman for the Media, Culture & Sport Dept.

Those in the industry largely dismiss the idea that the U.S. government’s hostile stance poses a threat to the industry’s future. Payne, whose Sportingbet Web site derives more than half its income from Americans, believes that considering the global reach of the Internet, it would be practically impossible for the U.S. to crack down on offshore operators. “We’re a U.K. public company licensed in the U.K., and the U.K. says you can take bets from American citizens,” he says.

GOING MAINSTREAM?  Even so, the question remains as to whether the fast-growing poker trend is a passing fad. According to Pokerpulse’s figures, the monthly increase in players has slowed from an average growth of 20% a month in 2003, to about 10% a month now, albeit from a much larger base. Dale Johnson, executive vice-president in corporate development at NETeller, says his company thinks current growth rates can’t sustain themselves.

Still, the industry has tremendous potential, particularly internationally, since the bulk of players now come from the U.S. “To this point what we’ve seen are the early adopters. There’s still a mainstream market to come,” he says.

If PartyGaming does go public, it will offer an unparalleled look into the industry’s poker online workings. The company, which has customer-service operations in India, has released little information about its operations. Analysts say it earned $350 million before interest, tax, and amortization in 2004, which means a possible valuation of $4 billion. It’s owned by five shareholders, including Indian software specialist Anurag Dikshit and American Ruth Parasol, a former adult-entertainment industry executive who no longer participates in PartyGaming’s day-to-day operations. Last year the company appointed Richard Segal, former head of Odeon Cinemas, as its chief executive.

“HOSPITABLE FEEL.”  Even if PartyGaming doesn’t list, those in the industry expect the future to bring more public offerings and, likely, consolidation of the 250 sites and 55 networks vying for the poker-playing public. “There’s enough of a hospitable feel in the financial community at this point,” says Sue Schneider, president of the River City Group, a Missouri firm that conducts research and runs trade shows on the Internet gambling industry.

As for the risks, she says, “This is an industry that tends to draw gamblers, even in terms of investors.”

Latest stories

spot_img
spin turbo gates of gatot kacapola maxwin mahjong wayscara gampang menang starlight princessmaxwin dari pola wild mahjong ways 2jacpot scatter hitam mahjong wins 3bocoran maxwin main pg softibu rumah tangga jackpot main sweet rush bonanza
judi bola onlinejudi bola onlinesabung ayam onlinelive casino onlinesv388sbobet88ws168sbobet mix parlayberbekal depo 50 ribu aja joko petani cabe menang rp.136.580.111 pakai trik ini cara main sweet bonanza gampang turunkan bom x1000simak lalu eksekusi strategi jitu pahami turunan simbol scatter gates of olympus perkalian sampe x1000 caer rp.112.668.220Sabung Ayam OnlineJudi Bola OnlineJudi Bola OnlineLink GacorAqua-Aqua Official InquiryDRT Seitai Official Contactjudi bolasabung ayam onlinesabung ayam onlinesabung ayam onlinesabung ayam onlinesabung ayam onlinesabung ayam onlinecara baru menang beruntun gates of olympusbocoran maxwin pragmatic playmahjong wins 3 gacorbocoran rtp dan trik menang di indojawa88rahsia rtp indojawa88wd puluhan juta di mahjong wayspola scatter tiga kali beruntun bikin pemain indojawa88 takjubmanajemen waktu dan kesabaran dua hal yang harus di pelajari dari pola mahjong waysLIVE CASINO ONLINECASINO ONLINEJUDI ONLINESLOT THAILANDSITUS JUDI BOLASLOT MAHJONGLIVE CASINO ONLINESABUNG AYAM ONLINEAGEN JUDI BOLASLOT MAHJONGsitus live casinosabung ayam onlineMIX PARLAYWALA MERONAGEN BLACKJACKSLOT GACORJUDI BOLA ONLINESABUNG AYAM ONLINESITUS SLOT ONLINESBOBETSV388JUDI BOLA ONLINECASINO ONLINESLOT MAHJONGSABUNG AYAMSV388sabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinelive casino onlineslot mahjong wayssabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinemix parlaykakek zeusmahjong waysmahjong ways 2scatter hitamgates of olympusmix parlaySitus Judi BolaSitus Live CasinoSitus Sabung AyamMahjong Ways 2sabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinecasino onlinemahjong wayssabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinecasino onlinemahjong wayssabung ayam onlineMix ParlayCasino Onlinesabung ayam onlinesbobetsabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinemahjong ways 2mahjong wins 3gates of olympusstarlight princesssweet bonanzamix parlaysabung ayam onlinelive casinoslot mahjongcasino onlinejudi bola onlinesabung ayam onlinecasino onlinejudi bola onlineJUDI BOLA ONLINESABUNG AYAM ONLINESLOT MAHJONG WAYSLIVE CASINO ONLINEjudi bola onlinesabung ayam onlinelive casino onlinezeus slot gacorjudi bola onlinesabung ayam onlinelive casino onlineslot mahjong waysws168sbobet wapagen baccaratsv388sbobet88ternyata bisa modal 42 ribu spin amatir mahjong ways 2 pakai trik ini menang dahsyat rp.141.330.002menang banyak trik main sweet bonanza modal receh pakai pola ini bom waktu meledak terus tanpa pandang buluwahanabet ungkap pola ritme spin mahjong ways yang sering bikin pemain tembus maxwin dalam 5 menit dengan modal 20 ribustrategi tukang parkir baca irama mahjong ways adi berhasil kumpulkan puluhan juta setiap bulan berkat ikuti pola dan trik dari wahanabetpenasaran mengapa kalian kalah terus di mahjong ways 2 ? ini dia rahasia dari wahanabet dijamin maxwin jika ikuti trik dan pola inibocoran tuntas rahasia simbol mahjong wins terungkap trik taruhan efektif dari wahanabet buat pemain baru auto ketagihan nyesel sendiri kalau gak cobapenemuan baru ternyata sweet bonanza lebih gacor dari semua game wahanabet siap pandu pemain baru sampai maxwin dalam sekali main saja dengan trik iniheran kenapa putaran nggak bisastabil begini triknya biar setiap putaran ada isinya di mahjong ways cara mudah gampang maxwin versi wahanabet yang wajib dicobaSabung Ayam OnlineSlot MahjongSabung Ayam OnlineSabung Ayam OnlineSabung Ayam OnlineSabung Ayam Onlinestrategi terbaru mahjong ways 2terbongkar pola baru mahjong wins 3strategi rtp live mahjong ways
SBOBET88SLOT MAHJONGJUDI BOLA ONLINESBOBET88SLOT MAHJONGLIVE CASINO ONLINESBOBETSABUNG AYAM ONLINESLOT MAHJONGSABUNG AYAM ONLINECASINO ONLINELIVE CASINO ONLINELIVE CASINO ONLINEAGEN JUDI BOLASLOT MAHJONGSBOBET88SABUNG AYAM ONLINECASINO ONLINELIVE CASINO ONLINESABUNG AYAM ONLINEJUDI BOLA ONLINESLOT MAHJONGLIVE CASINO ONLINESABUNG AYAM ONLINEJUDI BOLASLOT MAHJONGsabung ayam onlineslot mahjongjudi bolaJUDI BOLA ONLINESABUNG AYAM ONLINELIVE CASINO ONLINESLOT MAHJONG WAYSJUDI BOLA ONLINESABUNG AYAM ONLINELIVE CASINO ONLINESLOT MAHJONG WAYSSPACEMAN SLOTSLOT KAKEK ZEUSJUDI BOLA ONLINESITUS JUDI BOLAMIX PARLAYSABUNG AYAM ONLINESV388SLOT GACORSLOT ZEUSSV388MAHJONG WAYS 2SBOBET88SITUS LIVE CASINO ONLINESBOBET88SV388SABUNG AYAM ONLINEJUDI BOLA ONLINECASINO ONLINESLOT MAHJONGJUDI BOLA ONLINEsabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinelive casino onlineslot mahjongsabung ayam onlinesabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinelive casino onlineslot mahjonggates of olympuspragmatic playmix parlaysabung ayam onlinesitus sabung ayamagen sabung ayamAgen Judi Bolajudi bolaMix Parlaysabung ayam onlinejudi bolascatter hitamscatter hitammahjong waysmahjongmahjong waysmahjong waysmix parlaymix parlaymahjong waysmahjong wayssabung ayam onlinesabung ayam onlinecasino onlinecasino onlinejudi bola onlinejudi bola onlineSabung Ayam OnlineSV388Mix ParlayCasino OnlineMahjong WaysSV388sbobetCasino OnlineMahjong WaysSabung Ayam Onlinesabung ayam onlinecasino onlinejudi bola onlineslot zeusmahjong ways 2sabung ayam onlinemahjong ways 2casino onlinejudi bola onlinesabung ayam onlineSABA SPORTSV388LIVE CASINOWS168SBOBET88LIVE CASINOJUDI BOLAMAHJONG WAYSJUDI BOLA, SBOBET88SBOBET88SABUNG AYAM ONLINELIVE BACCARATSV388SBOBET88WS168PLAYTECH CASINOSV388SPORTSBOOK
pahami pola rtp agar permainan mahjong ways semakin menguntungkanmahjong wins 3 jadi pilihan tepat untuk pemain yang ingin menangtrik event mahjong wins 3 mudah raup scatter hitamSABUNG AYAM ONLINESBOBET88LIVE CASINO ONLINESITUS SLOT GACORSITUS SLOT ONLINEmahjong waysmahjong waysmahjong waysmember baru wajib wede pakai trik ampuh taklukan rotasi mahjong ways update pola scatter hitam terbaru pecahan x100pakai pola Ini kombinasi rtp 98.21% putaran gates of olympus gas manual x12 hanya bermodalkan 100 ribu bobby menang rp.75.150.500pakai strategi jitu ini terbukti cuan parah hanya 15 kali putaran receh starlight princess kasih kemenangan rp.198.558.311pahami struktur pola anti rungkat kombinasi startegi & rtp wild bandito kemenangan meningkat 10 kali lipatpanduan lengkap spin gampang maxwin versi baru mahjong ways dari wahanabet dijamin konsisten setiap harigak butuh hoki kuncinya cuman pola dan trik ini jika mau maxwin di mahjong wins cukup 20 ribu dijamin pecah scatter hitam dalam 5 menitbocoran jam gacor dengan pola dan trik wahanabet budi modal 20 ribu raih rp 98.053.000 di mahjong ways berkat ikuti tips inistrategi efektif mahjong wins untuk pemula paijo pemain baru buktikan dengan modal 20 ribu bisa sukses raup rp 99.048.000 di wahanabetsekarang waktunya sweet bonanza unjuk sigi banyak pemain baru maxwin di wahanabet dengan modal 20 ribu bisa cuan tp 88.059.000 dengan trik dan pola inikalah banyak di mahjong ways sekarang waktunya kalian main sweet bonanza wahanabet kasih kalian bocoran trik gampang menang dengan modal 20 ribu ajasuper mahjong ways pg soft buktikan bocoran trik nyata dapat scatter hitam dengan 9x spin sudah bisa pecah maxwin dalam 5 menit bermainanalisis mahjong ways beri harapan besar untuk pemain baru simak cara spin cerdas dengan maksimalkan modal 20 ribu jadi rp 75.599.000 di wahanabetsabung ayam onlinejudi bola onlinesabung ayam onlinecara ini bisa tembus ke istana scatter hitambeli 1 scatter gratis 3 scatter cuma disinirahaisa dibalik scatter bisa sampai punya rumah sendiriJudi Bola OnlineAgen Casino OnlineSabung Ayam OnlineSabung Ayam OnlineSabung Ayam Onlinemahjong ways 2agen togel onlinerahasia kuasai rtp mahjong ways 2maxwin gates of olympustrik menang mahjong waysrahasia scatter hitam mahjong waysmahjong wins 3 bagi-bagi cuanSafe Storage Club Official SiteJudi BolaSABUNG AYAM ONLINEJudi BolaLive CasinoSabung Ayam OnlineJudi BolaJudi Bola judi bola sabung ayam
Trinidad and Tobago Pilots’ Association Official About Pagemaxwin mahjong wins 3strategi main gates of olympuskuasai pola rtp pragmatic playlangkah mendapatkan scatter emaspola rtp pg soft indojawa88Green Gold Mountain Official SiteKomite SMKN 1 Tanjung Jabung Barat Official Sitetutorial maxwin mahjong waysstrategi rtp mahjong waysEIKON Official Policieskontak situs pecinta ayamNusa Islands Bali Official ContactCitraLand Surabaya Official NewsLenterakita About PageVinayak Group Official SiteI Think An Idea Official SitePITAC Official SitePortfolioSitez Official SiteMedical LTD Official SiteCapworks Official SiteMartino & Luth Official SiteTech With Mike First Official SiteSahabat Tiopan Official SiteE-Sekolah CBT Official SiteBDF Ventura Official SiteOcean E Soft Official SiteArab DMC Official SiteBBC Noun Official SiteCang Vu Hai Phong Official SiteThe Flat Official SiteThe Black Sheep Official SiteCEM Argentina Official SiteSlot MahjongTop Dawg Tavern Official SiteKelas Nesfatin Official SiteDuhoc Interlink Official SiteKarunia Inda Med Mandiri Official SiteJFV Pulm Official SiteRatiohead Official SiteAskona Official SiteMAN Surabaya E-Learning Official SiteShaker Group Official SiteTakaKawa Shoten Official SiteBrydan Solutions Official SiteConcursos Rodin Official SiteEHOB Official SiteConmou Official SiteCareer Wings Official SiteMontero Espinosa Official SiteBDF Ventura Official SiteDesa Sangginora Official SiteBDF Ventura Official SiteTaruna Akademia Official SiteAkura Official SiteMUI Ciamis Official SiteNamulanda Technical Institute Official Site