Sportingbet signs to Ongame
Sportingbet has signed a deal with Ongame for its poker brands but will stay with Entraction in certain markets.
Sportingbet is to launch poker on the Ongame Network in the second half of 2011.
The operator will however continue to use Entraction in markets not covered by Ongame, as is the case under its ongoing agreement with GTECH G2’s International Poker Network (IPN). Martin Lerby, head of Ongame Network, told eGaming Review that: “What is obviously very clear is that the business that we will get through Sportingbet is only on markets where it is legally white.”
Lerby (pictured) said he expected Sportingbet to be a “substantial contributor” to the network in terms of player numbers, and confirmed a shared view of the importance of network ecology had been a major factor behind the sign-up.
“We know that [Sportingbet] have the right potential to become a good partner for our network because they attract the right type of players and have the right view on network ecology – they share our ideas on how networks should be run,” he said.
Under the terms of the deal with Ongame, the London-listed company will be free to operate poker under several of their brands, not just Paradise Poker, currently powered by GTECH G2’s IPN.
Sportingbet will join other sportsbook-led brands on the Ongame platform, including Betfair, Bwin and Gala Coral. The Stockholm-based company said in a statement that the addition of Sportingbet was consistent with its “strategy to ensure poker profitability by working with the world’s strongest sportsbook brands”.