Online poker boom expected to continue into 2006

Thursday 22nd December 2005

The popularity and proliferation of poker, both on and offline, is expected to continue according to Richard Segal, CEO of PartyGaming – the world’s largest online poker operator.

2005 was a landmark year for online poker and the online gaming industry as a whole. This year saw three large London stock market flotations, generating revenues of around $3.5 billion (2 billion pounds). Moreover, poker games and books are now topping Christmas lists the world over.

At the fore of the online explosion is PartyGaming who are the dominant force in the industry. After a high-profile £4.6 billion flotation in June, the owner of PartyPoker and Starluck Casino saw its market value soar to over £7 billion.

The dawning of 2006 promises more exciting - and likely profitable - prospects for PartyGaming with the launch of its new PartyCasino site to run alongside its existing Starluck Casino, as well as two new games.

'There will be two new products next year… In the first half there will be a person-to-person skill game and in the second half there will be another more akin to casino,” said Segal.

PartyGaming will also launch a 'shared purse', which will help players switch from game to game. Segal explains, 'If you want to go from playing on Starluck Casino to PartyPoker, it's currently the equivalent of going from eBay to Amazon… It's not just one click away, but that will change.'

Source: OnlineCasinoNews