“From an industrial point of view this is both an offensive and a defensive move,” Gianmarco Bonacina, Italian analyst, told Bloomberg. “In Europe, Bwin and PartyGaming are losing market share in poker versus Pokerstars and Fulltilt, so the combination will protect them. In the U.S., the move is offensive. They want to attack that market and are in a better position if they combine.”


The merged company, with sales reported at over €682,000,000, will be divided with 51.6 per cent owned by Bwin and the rest by PartyGaming. The former’s chief executive, Jim Ryan, swore that the company would be ready when the US market re-opened.


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