Gamebookers Joins The Party

Published: Thursday, August 03, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

GAMEBOOKERS JOINS THE PARTY

GBP69 million paid for sportsbook acquisition

Party Gaming's long quest for a sportsbook is over, it seems. This week the gambling group confirmed longstanding rumours by adding Gamebookers to its stable following a GBP 69 million deal with owners Trident Gaming out of the Isle of Man.

Gamebookers offers online sports betting to some 50 000 active customers in 140 countries, Party Gaming CEO Mitch Garber revealed in making the announcement. He said that the acquisition is part of a strategy to diversify group business from both a product and geographic perspective, but emphasised that Gamebookers would not be accepting any action from US gamblers.

The cross-marketing potential flowing from the deal is considerable, and Gamebookers will be a good fit for other Party Gaming activities - the group owns gaming sites such as PartyPoker.com and EmpirePoker.com, and also offers online casino and backgammon gambling.

The company generates about three-quarters of its revenue from customers in the US and has been successfully targeting other geographic markets in Europe and Asia in an attempt to reduce dependence on American business and the risk attached to political and legal problems in that country.

"The acquisition of Gamebookers is an important step forward in diversifying Partygaming's business from both a product and geographic perspective," said Garber. "We believe that sports betting will be a valuable addition to our integrated gaming platform, which we expect to provide excellent cross-selling opportunities for our expanding base of customers outside the US."

Gamebookers has an Antiguan gaming license and the bulk of its operations are run from a centre in Bulgaria.