WILL ENTRACTION DEAL PROMPT A SELL-OFF OF ONGAME?

Written On  5/6/11 By Recentpoker.com staff writer  Lenny Wasman :

IGT's acquisition of an online poker firm gives Bwin.party Digital pause for thought
 
Our readers will recall that the future of Bwin's online poker subsidiary Ongame was closely examined as the company's merger with Party Gaming shaped up earlier this year, with observers noting that the duplication of effort constituted by Party Poker and Ongame might lead to a sell-off.
 
That possibility may have moved closer this week with the news that the Swedish poker provider Entraction is to be swallowed up by US corporate IGT’s UK division.
 
Bwin.party Digital's co-chief executive Norbert Teufelberger was quizzed on the issue at a presentation of the group's maiden quarterly on Friday, and acknowledged the possibility, although he was less than complimentary about the Entraction player offering.
 
Teufelberger also remarked that the Entraction-IGT deal is perhaps an indication that the large US gambling corporates may be taking a view that US legalization is on the foreseeable horizon.
 
“So, it [the Entraction deal] may have an impact on the strategic decision which we may take in the next few weeks or months on Ongame, but in principle, I think it’s rather positive,” he commented.
 
However, Ongame will be encouraged by a statement from a Bwin.party spokesman, who revealed that a new client was in the wings for the poker subsidiary.