Yahoo! Poker Gaining Momentum
Through Yahoo! UK & Ireland, Yahoo! is the first major Internet company to offer real-money poker games, online, at http://www.yahoo.co.uk/poker . An examination of the online poker traffic reporting site, PokerSiteScout, indicates that Yahoo's network is currently the 12th largest poker site with 1,287 cash players daily, trailing established, larger sites like PokerStars and PartyPoker that average 7,000-9,000 cash players per day.
The site is being managed by Gibraltar-based St. Minver, Europe's largest online gaming network, and employs software from poker software developer Boss Media AB. St. Minver already runs Yahoo's online bingo site. "We are delighted to welcome Yahoo! UK into Boss Media AB and St. Minver's partner-based international poker network," said James Ryan, chief executive officer of St. Minver, Ltd. "We have created a simple, safe and entertaining online poker offering that will be engaging."
The site will accept bets from those who have credit cards or debit cards denominated in euros and U.K. pounds, the company said. "Poker continues to be one of the most popular online card games and the introduction of Yahoo! UK into the sector is definitely going to broaden its appeal," said Ryan.
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Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo! launched the site on May 1, working with St. Minver, which also works with Spain's Telefonica, Virgin Games and Littlewoods, promoting a network of 96 online casinos in Europe, as well as bingo sites. The company operates with a gaming license from the government of Gibraltar and manages liquidity, promotions and customer service for its clients.Software developer Boss Media, based in Sweden, and develops computer and interactive gaming solutions, the company said.
Founded in 1994, Yahoo!, now one of the Internet's leading brands, expects the revenues from its gambling operations to bolster its already solid bottom line. "We continue to make good progress against the goals we've outlined for the company," said Terry Semel, chairman and chief executive officer of Yahoo! "Yahoo! remains committed to delivering both increased value for advertisers and the highest-quality content to the majority of the world's Internet population. We believe that Yahoo! is well-positioned to capture the major growth opportunities we see ahead."
For the first quarter of 2007, revenues at Yahoo! were up seven percent, driven by fees for marketing services and for online services. Revenue from fees -- and Yahoo! will charge gamblers fees to use the new poker site -- were up by nine percent during the first quarter, totaling $203 million, the company said. The company expects the gambling operations to contribute to its profitability immediately. "We maintained strong profitability and cash flow, while remaining focused on building innovative products and services for our large and growing base of users, advertisers and publishers," said Susan Decker, chief financial officer at Yahoo! "As we look ahead, we are excited about the transformational changes on the Internet."
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