Manchester United unveils social poker network

Our industry-round up also includes news on the William Hill/888 Holdings takeover deal, plus PokerStars discussing the possibility of Bitcoins.

Fans to be United by poker

English football giants Manchester United held a special event at Old Trafford earlier this week to help promote its new social gaming partner, 'KamaGames'.

The Irish digital publishing franchise was announced as an official partner of the club earlier this year, and will be developing Man Utd themed casino and poker games to give fans of the club from all over the world the chance to play together and interact.

Stars like Wayne Rooney (pictured), Juan Mata and Michael Carrick were in attendance to sample some of the games, and were quick to challenge each other to a few hands on the virtual felt.

No money can be wagered in any of the games available, they are purely social, but prizes like tickets to matches and fan memorabilia can be won by top finishers in selected freeroll tournaments.

888 rejects William Hill takeover

Last week we reported on William Hill making a £700m bid to takeover 888 Holdings, but earlier this week it emerged that the proposed deal had fallen through.

In a statement issued to the press, 888 explained that talks collapsed after a "significant difference in opinion on the value of the company".

Despite the original offer from William Hill being 15% more (200p per share) than 888's estimated value, it's rumoured that the Shaked family - which has a 50% stake in 888 Holdings - is holding out for an offer in the region of 300p per share.

PokerStars denies Bitcoin rumours

According to a representative of the company, PokerStars has "no immediate plans" to introduce 'Bitcoin' into its operations, but will "continue to monitor the situation".

Speculation had been growing around the industry recently after a string of reports claimed the world's largest site was close to finalising an integration of the virtual currency, but those reports have also been dismissed as "incorrect".

Do you think Manchester United can help attract new players to poker? Let us know in the comments.