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Caesars and Internet gambling giant Microgaming have signed a deal to offer online poker to those in Italy under the World Series of Poker brand. The Italian market recently opened up for legalized Internet poker with PokerStars .it card room now the 6th largest in the world in terms of “real cash” players.
The company also plans to offer off-line poker tournaments.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc. would not release specifics on the deal reached as of Wednesday night.
"There is plenty of upside to this deal if we execute it properly," Seth Palansky, a spokesman with Caesars Interactive, said Wednesday.
"This agreement is a logical step in our European and global expansion strategy to partner with leading local companies as we look to expand the WSOP brand," said Caesars Interactive CEO Mitch Garber. Garber himself once headed up the world’s 4th largest online poker network, PartyGaming.
Microgaming operates the PeoplesNetwork.it (or People’s Poker) online poker arm, which is considered the 7th largest in the world and 2nd biggest in Italy after PokerStars. The PeoplesNetwork.it enterprise will be co-branded with the World Series of Poker in Italy.
Caesars, formerly Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment, already has branding arrangements with three United Kingdom websites: WSOP.com, caesarscasino.com and caesarsbingo.com. The company anticipates operating in another European Union nation in the coming year.
Caesars was one of the Las Vegas casino firms actively pushing for regulation of online poker in the United States. A draft bill widely circulated by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid failed to get passed this session.
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
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