Latest In BetAndWin Pokerroom Takeover

Published: Saturday, December 10, 2005 Online-Casinos.com

LATEST NEWS ABOUT THE BETANDWIN ONGAME POKERROOM TAKEOVER

Vienna listed sportsbook group could become second only to Party Gaming in the online poker and gambling industry

Bet And Win came closer to becoming the world's second-largest online gaming company this week with its attempt to negotiate the Euro 500 million takeover of Swedish online poker gambling giant Ongame.

If successful, the takeover could catapult Bet And Win ahead of the UK betting group Sportingbet into second spot after PartyGaming.

The deal has the potential to enable Betandwin to achieve greater heights in the competitive gaming market by offering customers broader options than sportbetting. Gamblers could wager on both sports and casino games through one account, creating a far more convenient financial option.

Ongame, a Swedish company whose main subsidiary, PokerRoom.com, is domiciled in Costa Rica to get around Sweden's monopoly laws, said there was "...no certainty that any final binding agreement on the transaction will be reached". The company is being advised by HSBC.

Charles Hall, an analyst with brokers Panmure Gordon, said: "It reinforces the theory that the major listed players are firmly in pole position to dominate the industry as others will choose to sell rather than float."

Ongame subsidiary PokerRoom.com is the world's third-ranked poker site in terms of size. Ongame was founded by two Swedish professional poker players, Oskar Hörnell and Claes Lidell, who also own HoldemPoker.com.

By the end of October, PokerRoom.com had around 6 million customers, 85 percent of whom are in the US, Canada and the UK. Betandwin's customers are concentrated in Europe and Russia.

If the deal does not go ahead, Ongame has said it will press ahead with plans to float in London next year, probably in the second quarter. The company has also been expanding its gambling activities into Eastern Europe.