Betclic Everest announces Playtech agreement
Betclic and Everest poker brands will join Expekt on iPoker network.
Betclic Everest has signed an agreement with Playtech covering its Everest and Betclic brands, the French egaming operator has confirmed.
The two brands will move their poker offerings onto the software provider’s iPoker network before the end of the year, joining the operator’s other dot.com brand Expekt. eGR understands that Betclic Everest subsidiary bet-at-home, which sits on GTECH G2’s International Poker Network, will be unaffected.
It comes after a steady six-month liquidity decline, which has seen Everest Poker’s seven-day average liquidity dip from around 1,000 to fewer than 600 cash players (according to Pokerscout).
Betclic Everest already has an agreement with Playtech covering its Betclic.it brand, while its Betclic.com brand previously sat on the International Poker Network before migrating to the proprietary Everest Gaming software almost exactly one year ago. There is no indication from Betclic Everest as to its plans for the software once the migration to iPoker is complete.
Earlier this week iPoker executed the long-planned division of its network into two tiers for cash games at selected stakes, with operators on the top tier required to meet three conditions relating to player numbers and types. eGR has learned that number of operators which failed to make the top tier have begun sounding out the possibility of forming an action group.
Currently only five operators are on the top tier – Paddy Power, Titan Poker, William Hill, bet365 and Poker770 – but eGR sources have suggested that Everest’s dot.com liquidity, just under one fifth of iPoker’s total according to Pokerscout, would likely put it in good stead to meet two of the three criteria.
Everest’s poker offering in France, where it was awarded an egaming licence by ARJEL in June 2010, currently enjoys greater liquidity than its dot.com equivalent and dwarfs the iPoker.fr network, which saw licensees TitanPoker.fr and ChiliPoker.fr close this year.
The migration could be seen as the latest step in chief executive Ignacio Martos’ push to revive the business after an underwhelming 2011, and the CEO said “Partnering with Playtech is the best way to improve the experience of our customers and our liquidity and to offer our community a better interface to the latest industry standards.
“With this partnership, we continue our strategy to offer the best online gaming experience to our players and to consolidate our position in key European markets where we are present.” added Martos (pictured).
Playtech CEO Mor Weizer said of the deal: “Playtech is delighted with the decision of BetClic Everest to join the iPoker network in its main markets. The French market remains a priority market for us…[but] his partnership extends beyond France, and will benefit our two groups with greater liquidity, advanced technology and a closer relationship.”