Bwin and PartyPoker complete liquidity merger
Traffic surpasses Full Tilt player numbers in mission to become "clear number two" to PokerStars.
Bwin.com completed the transfer of its poker players from Ongame onto the PartyGaming platform yesterday, with the latter now surpassing Full Tilt Poker in terms of traffic.
The operator announced its plans to merge liquidity across the two platforms in August, when it set out a four-point plan to reverse declining poker revenues and plans to become the “clear number two” in the poker market.
According to PokerScout, the move has seen the PartyPoker network overtake Full Tilt Poker in player numbers, with a current 24-hour peak of 6,532 compared to FTP’s 5,938. It cash player total is now 2,799 compared to FTP’s 2603.
The pooling of players from its two main poker brands is designed to improve poker ecology for the operator, with the outgoing co-CEO Jim Ryan explaining in August that an imbalance of recreational and experienced players had led to a decline in cash deposits.
Ryan added the operator was expecting a 10% loss in players initially when migrating them from the bwin platform to PartyPoker, but would achieve a net increase in player liquidity of between 30 to 50% overall and therefore “improving the gaming experience at all table levels” in the process.
The integration was initially been trialled in Spain when PartyPoker.es was launched in June, with liquidity set to be pooled on its dot.com sites in Q4 2012.
“We want to create a more liquid environment so it’s more commercial for sharks to play in. But we are seeking a balance that motivates the recreational player to enjoy themselves and continue to deposit,” Ryan explained in August.
October saw bwin.party sell the Ongame poker network, of which bwin was thought to contribute around a third of its liquidity, to Canadian software supplier Amaya Gaming for a total cash consideration of up to 25m. Bwin.party had been looking for a buyer since the spring of last year when it publicly deemed it a “surplus asset” following the merger of Bwin and PartyGaming.
It had previously attracted interest from SHFL Entertainment, which agreed a 19.5m fee for the network, before pulling out of the deal three months later.