PartyPoker Still Recovering From UIGEACompany Will Finish Year About $500 Million Down From 2005 |
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PartyGaming is looking to make up its post-UIGEA poker loses through an increased online casino presence by signing a five-year contract with WaterLogic, a subsidiary of CryptoLogic, for a suite of casino games.
The launch is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2009 and includes the slots games The Fantastic Four, Hulk, and Spider-Man, as well as Bejewelled, Cubis, and Street Fighter, among others.
Right now, PartyGaming, which ended servicing U.S. customers shortly after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) became law, spreads poker and 50 online casino games through PartyCasino and other sites.
CryptoLogic also said that it is in detailed discussions with a major poker network to share its poker workload (the Financial Times is reporting the major poker network is PartyGaming), which would “increase liquidity while reducing expenses substantially.” CryptoLogic estimates that once this agreement is signed, the company will save $12 million-$15 million annually in operating expenses.
PartyGaming is a publicly traded company that was once the world’s largest poker room. Its best poker year was 2005, when the company pulled in $859 million. The company made $553 million from poker in 2004.
But the bottom dropped out in 2006 when the company decided to leave the U.S. market because of the UIGEA. That year, it made $268 million from poker. In 2007, poker revenue rose to $288.8 million.
In the first half of 2008, PartyGaming has made $153.9 million from poker.
PartyGaming’s casino revenue in 2007 was $143.6 million. In 2006, it made $51 million from casino games. In the first half of 2008, PartyGaming has made $89.9 million through its online casinos.
