News in brief: Ongame terminates EuroSuperPoker agreement; Rank Group; Full Tilt
Ongame terminates contract with EuroSuperPoker after it allegedly "broke against [the] terms of their agreement" - skin leaves network with immediate effect.
The Ongame network has terminated its agreement with EuroSuperPoker, with the sponsor of the Spanish Poker Championship leaving the network with immediate effect. EuroSuperPoker only joined Ongame in January, with the network hoping to strengthen in Spain as a consequence, but ties were severed after the former iPoker skin “broke against [the] terms of their agreement,” according to Martin Lerby, head of the Ongame network. Without going into any further detail, Lerby told eGaming Review “the goal of EuroSuperPoker strengthening the Ongame network in Spain has not been achieved,” however he clarified “Ongame has high ambitions for all regulated markets including Spain.”
The Rank Group has issued a circular to shareholders outlining the reasons for last week’s rejection of a bid from the Guoco Group. The document reiterated that the offer “substantially undervalues Rank and its prospects,” and also outlines plans to grow its G Casino brand from 15 to 30 sites by 2015. Rank has also clarified that a decision on £275m of VAT claims is expected before the end of 2011. Simon French, analyst at Panmure Gordon, described the publication of the circular as “[not] a wholly academic exercise,” and reiterated his firm’s ‘buy’ recommendation.
Full Tilt Poker-sponsored television programme The Poker Lounge will resume filming on 22 July, according to producer Rob Thomas. Filming of the show was suspended in April following the freezing of a number of bank accounts tied to the poker site, and player availability issues have seen the resumption set back until after the World Series of Poker.
Lock Poker has followed in the footsteps of Bodog and redirected players from its dot.com domain to a dot.eu platform. As a member of the Merge network, Lock Poker no longer accepts players from Washington, Maryland, New York, Missouri and Louisiana, however, it has continued to accept US players since Black Friday, signing two new sponsored pros last week.
Playtech‘s iPoker network has overtaken PartyPoker to climb to third place on Pokerscout‘s poker traffic rankings. The network has a rolling seven-day average of 3,500 players, the same as PartyPoker, but its 24-hour peak is marginally higher.
A decision on the winning bid for the Tote is expected today, with BetFred and Martin Broughton’s Sports Investment Partners the two remaining candidates. According to The Daily Telegraph, both bidders were invited to make final offers on Tuesday by Lazard, the investment bank handling the sale.
Former Everest Poker owner GigaMedia has seen Q1 revenues fall by 72% year-on-year, due in part to the sale of the poker room to BetClic Everest (then Mangas) last May. However, the Taiwanese company did record a 17% increase in revenues quarter-on-quarter, from US$8.9m (£5.5m) to $10.4m (£6.4m).
Pokerstars has renewed its sponsorship with the Toronto Maple Leafs until the end of the 2011/12 season, under the terms of a new agreement with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Former Maple Leafs player Mats Sundin is a member of Team Pokerstars.
ZEN Entertainment Network, Poker Royalty, and RISE Clothing have announced the launch of RISE Poker, a subscription-based poker site available for US players. The site, that has free-play options and subscriptions of up to US$19.99 per month, is scheduled to go live on 31 May, according to Pokernews, and will offer players the chance to win a seat at the World Series of Poker Main Event.