Victor Chandler Poker Moves House:

Last month one of Europe’s largest and longest established online poker rooms moved house. Victor Chandler Poker decided it was time for a change of scenery and migrated its players from the iPoker network to the up-and-coming Swedish-headquartered Entraction network – home of the successful European Masters of Poker tour.
While it’s not unusual for online poker sites to move to a new software provider, Victor Chandler Poker is among an elite, experienced group of sites which have done it more than once — in 2007 it moved from the much-loved Tribeca network when Tribeca was sold to iPoker owner, Playtech.
However the issue of migrating from one poker network to another is not one which generally receives a lot of media attention. Like an iceberg, most of the migration is hidden away from public view with only the tip (new client, new offers) visible to players.
In this insightful interview with Andy Horne, head of poker at Victor Chandler, Card Player sheds some light on what its like to move to a new home when you’re a highly visible online poker site taking almost 1.5 million players with you.
Card Player: Moving networks is a colossal undertaking. Tell us about the conversations Victor Chandler Poker had in the process of reaching the momentous decision to move to a new network.
Andy Horne: There are many factors to consider when moving from one network to another, from both an operator and a player perspective and so our first conversations revolved around establishing the reasons for wanting to move and whether or not we could find a suitable, alternative supplier that would justify a move on both the operator and player level.
For instance, it’s no good moving to a network on the basis of a great commercial agreement if said network is lacking in software functionality, player liquidity, promotions, etcetera…, or has a restrictive policy that doesn’t allow you to be individual and innovative in your approach and within the network.
Networks are potentially great for operators and players alike but for a network to be successful long-term it has to work with its operators at their level and not fall into the trap of believing that good software and good liquidity is all that it takes.
CP: What did you look for when scouting a new network?
AH: Primarily we were looking for a supplier that shares our vision for the future of online poker and that was willing to work with us in order to achieve this. Evidently we also had to consider the current status of a network in terms of software, liquidity, player benefits, etcetera… as well as how future industry developments, decisions and legislation could affect the various networks in the months to come. We were therefore looking for a network that would satisfy our requirements not just for now but in the long-term.
CP: What kind of initial conversations did you have with potential partners?
AH: We spoke with a number of suppliers before deciding to move to Entraction and performed our due diligence with regard to each supplier, their methods, policies, and network metrics. We also raised questions regarding their visions for the future and the level of input that we as an operator would be granted, but just as importantly, we needed to appreciate each alternative from an operators level and so we also spoke with a number of existing operators on the various networks in order to get a better understanding of what being a part of each network actually represented and how it would affect our operations and players.
CP: What swung the deal in Entraction’s favour?
AH: Fundamentally, it was their vision for the future, which we discovered was almost identical to our own, that convinced us to go with Entraction. Our shared vision is to make online poker attractive once again to the masses through the establishment of “smart” loyalty programs, innovative software development, and levels of player protection.
Ultimately, while it is important for a network to cater to and attract all types and levels of players, it is the recreational players that keep the network alive and our focus therefore is to create an environment for the recreational player that is both reliable and rewarding as well as fun. Added to this, our knowledge and good experience of working with Entraction in the past convinced us that the Entraction network is the best option for our players and has the greatest potential to reinvigorate online poker.
CP: Give us an outline of the processes that took place on migration day?
AH: Fortunately, our player accounts were integrated into the Entraction back-end and most of the work completed prior to migration, and so come migration day (without getting too technical) it was really a matter of shutting down on iPoker, switching all accounts over to Entraction (literally, at the flick of a switch), redirecting our cashier so that it communicates with Entraction rather than iPoker, and putting the whole system live once again. There was obviously a bit more to it than that and, of course, before we could allow our players back online we needed to go through a final phase of testing to ensure everything was working correctly.
CP: How do you communicate with players about the migration to keep them up to speed with what’s going on?
AH: Mailers, mailers, and more mailers. It’s very important to keep the players up to speed at all times and that we are the ones to inform them of any change, and so as soon as the news of the move was made public we mailed every single player with the news that we would be moving to the Entraction network in December ²⁰¹⁰.
This was followed up with a mailer informing the players of the promotions we would be running and incorporating a migration FAQ, and a final mailer on migration day advising the players of the re-launch of Victor Chandler Poker on the Entraction network. In addition, throughout this process from when the news was announced, our customer support team were fully advised of the situation and were able to respond to the many queries that were raised by our players.
CP: What can players expect from the new network?
AH: Much of the same and more. The Entraction network doesn’t (currently) have as high a player liquidity as iPoker but it offers a far wider game choice and some very exciting and innovative tournaments and promotions. The first quarter of 2011 will also see the introduction of a new loyalty program which will be tremendously beneficial to the recreational player as well as a client “make-over” incorporating some totally unique features.
CP: Victor Chandler Poker has been through a migration before. How have things changed since the big move from Tribeca in 2007?
AH: It would be easier to list how things haven’t changed, but in short, the market is a much tougher place these days and competition much stronger, especially as so many operators are using rake back as their main acquisition method. More players looking for bigger incentives and less players looking for enjoyment has caused and will continue to cause many problems, in particular for rooms that are part of a network.
We have suffered the loss of many players through rake-back offers on other rooms within the same network and we ourselves resorted to this strategy for a while in order to recoup what we had lost.
Ultimately however we found this to be a non-viable business model as our bread-and-butter customers were being compromised due to lower margins and we began to see our lifeblood ebbing away. Unfortunately, rake back will always be a thorn in the side of online poker but with the cooperation of the other operators on Entraction we can hope to negate its influence and bring online poker back to its roots.
CP: Competition is fierce in European online poker at the moment — how will you attract new players?
AH: Indeed, competition is very fierce but we have the advantage of an established and growing sports book from where we continue to attract large numbers of poker players. As a company we are also investing heavily in emerging markets and social networks will play a major part in our strategy for 2011. We are also of the belief that as the network’s vision comes to fruition, players will seek out operators such as ourselves that are a part of the network. ♠
Victor Chandler Poker – Past, Present, Future
Victor Chandler Poker has been around for almost a decade and now boasts almost 1.5 million registered users making it one of the longest running and largest sports book-driven online poker sites in Europe.
Andy Horne, head of poker at Victor Chandler, describes the early days of a pioneering poker room. “We were one of the first operators to launch on the Tribeca network in 2002 and we remained with them until they shut down in 2007. Those early days, as anyone who was in the business at the time knows, were great. The industry was enjoying a golden age and the fact that we were on the Tribeca network was all the better for us and our players.
“Tribeca was founded and run by poker players who had a great understanding of the player mentality and an even greater insight into how the industry would develop. Consequently the Tribeca network became very popular very quickly and consistently adapted in a positive manner to the changing (and growing) environment.
“It was a sad day when Tribeca was no more but they indoctrinated us with a lasting legacy and taught us some very valuable lessons and we have subsequently enjoyed almost four years of being one of the major players on one of the largest European networks with iPoker.”
Originally Victor Chandler was a high-end bookmaker but as the business changed through technology it rode a wave of innovation. Horne believes trust and communication are the keys to its current success.
“Our player base is predominantly made up of recreational players many of whom originate from the sports book side of the business. Geographically speaking, the UK still accounts for the majority of our players but we also have a growing number of players from countries/territories such as Spain, Germany, Israel, Scandinavia, Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe.
“Why is Victor Chandler Poker attractive to so many players from so many countries? Firstly, there’s the question of trust. Victor Chandler has been in business for almost 65 years and as such has a well-established reputation for being trustworthy and respecting the privacy of our clientele.
“Secondly, customer service. We provide customer support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year by telephone, email, and instant chat in a number of languages, and have a great personal rapport with our players. Transactions-wise, we have our own cage and do not charge our customers for either deposits or withdrawals.
“Finally, we have always endeavoured to establish unique and innovative promotions such as The Grand Slam, Beat Victor, Poker Olympics, Crack My Poker Face, The Share Scheme, and Prague Poker Palooza to name but a few and which allow players of all levels, game types, and disciplines to participate under formats that are aren’t geared just towards the high end, high volume players.
One of the many advantages of the move to Entraction for players will be their participation in the hugely successful, mid-range buy-in, European Masters of Poker tour which will embark on season III early next year. Understandably Horne is thrilled at the prospect.
“We are very excited about becoming part of EMOP. It has become a well-established live event series and is definitely a key unique selling point for the Entraction network.
“It is also very much aimed at the online player and the absence of professional players makes it an attractive live series for “first timers” and the recreational player in general. Being the only live event series promoted by Entraction, it also engenders the community aspect as players meet up time and again at the live events and continue their friendships online. It also establishes loyalty in the network through the live event experience provided by Entraction.
“The network hosts many promotions throughout the year giving the players ample opportunity to qualify for the live events and we plan to do the same on a poker room level.” ♠