Microgaming and 888 in French Poker Venture
5/10/10 – The soon-to-liberalised French online gambling market has attracted the attention of another two industry giants, with pioneer gambling software company Microgaming and one of the business’s largest operating groups, 888 Holdings.com, joining forces to create a French online poker network.
The two companies have agreed on a joint venture which, subject to the necessary licence approvals, will deliver a French poker network that will benefit from a shared pool of player liquidity on a single platform.
This venture will see Microgaming’s poker software combined with 888 Holdings plc technological and marketing expertise to provide a dedicated poker network with the goal of rapidly becoming one of the leading internet poker offerings in a liberalised French market.
Gigi Levy, CEO, 888 Holdings plc, said: “This deal marks a turning point in the industry, with big networks collaborating in newly regulated markets to create a shared pool of liquidity, benefitting customers and assisting in rapidly generating large poker networks in each market.
“Once we have obtained the required licence and the French market is operational, this represents a strategic opportunity for us. It provides us with the ideal platform to secure a meaningful market share in France, which is set to become one of the key poker markets in Europe.
“This is an important step in the development of the industry, and marks the start of European regulated companies collaborating in the poker field to increase their competitiveness.”
Microgaming CEO, Roger Raatgever, commented: “We are delighted to be working with 888 to deliver a poker solution to the French market. We look forward to combining our wealth of experience and knowledge to bring the highest global standards to the local market.
“We are working hard to ensure quick and seamless integration of our software, and [we] are fully committed to the French market, ensuring that we are fully compliant with all French regulatory standards.”
