Bookies Report Poker Business Slowdown

Annual reports released over the last few days by bookmakers and poker room operators Paddy Power and Rank, owner of Blue Square, indicate the competitive environment continues to cause difficulties for the companies’ poker offerings.

While the Irish bookie said simply it experienced “gaming gross win growth, notwithstanding poker challenges,” Blue Square was less opaque, stating “our poker product lost ground on its performance in 2006 as a result of the requirement to move from the Tribeca to the Playtech operating platforms.”

Rank went on to report one buoyant area of its poker business, namely the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour, which comprised 11 tournaments, hosted by Grosvenor and G Casinos in Britain. Total player registrations exceeded 3,000 with a total prize pool of £3.2 million generated.

The tournaments were broadcast on Channel 4 television between September and December 2007, attracting average weekly audiences of 205,000. The company said viewing figures for the grand finale of 320,000 represents the biggest audience for a poker competition ever held in the UK.

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