29 Jul 10

Mega-Merger: bwin and PartyGaming

The two biggest public listed e-gaming/online poker companies are about to merge - what does this mean for the online poker market and for poker players?

bwin PartyPoker
bwin and PartyPoker are now one
On Thursday, Austrian sports-book/poker giant bwin and PartyGaming PLC, the operators of PartyPoker, signed an agreement to merge their operations. The new company will have its headquarters in Gibraltar and will be listed on the London Stock Exchange.

This is the biggest-ever e-gaming merger – and it’s a merger of equals: both companies are worth more than £1 billion. The shareholders of PartyGaming will own about 48.4% of the shares of the new company, while the shareholders of bwin will hold 51.6%.

However, the deal is not final yet: the shareholders of both companies still have to accept the deal. Norbert Teufelberger (one of the bwin founders) and Jim Ryan (PartyGaming CEO) will be Co-CEOs of the combined entity.

Discuss about the PartyPoker-bwin merger in our forum

Statements from the new Co-CEOs

Norbert Teufelberger
bwin co-founder & CEO

"This business combination makes great strategic, operational and financial sense. We will be in pole position to capitalise on the wealth of opportunities that will flow from the continued evolution and expansion of the global online gaming industry."

 Norbert Teufelberger
Jim Ryan
PartyGaming CEO

"With market-leading positions in poker, sports betting, casino and games (in particular bingo), the enlarged group will have a winning formula to exploit the growing online gaming market, supported by a strong balance sheet, significant cashflow generation and a highly experienced management team."


 Jim Ryan

Your questions, our view

Why did they merge?
There are many reasons behind it, but the most simple explanation is: gaming companies want to be strong in all areas of online gaming. PartyGaming  lacks a strong sportsbook and bwin lacks a strong online casino – together, they are market leaders in both.

What does this mean for me as a player?
First of all: don't worry. Both are highly respectable and publicly listed companies – two of the poker operators where your bankroll is safest. The stock markets like their move and so both bwin and PartyPoker should have an easier time investing into their poker offers and large-scale marketing.

Stock market
PartyGaming and bwin stock market chart

Will Ongame and PartyPoker merge as poker platforms?

Our opinion:
  1. PartyPoker's own software is better than Ongame software and they therefore should not move to Ongame
  2. Operating separately from each other would be okay
  3. It would be ideal if PartyPoker, bwin and maybe Betfair formed a new network with a good regulation of their internal network ecology.
What they finally will do remains to be seen – but we are optimist that they will choose the right path for their poker operations and thus ultimately, for their players.

More information