According to a press release distributed on Friday, Simon Duffy will become Non-Executive Chairman following the merger of Party Gaming and bwin, which is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2011. Neither company accepts players from the United States.
The merger, which was announced in late July, combines two of the largest internet gambling outfits on the planet and Duffy will assume his role once the unification is complete. Duffy told Party Gaming and bwin shareholders on Friday, “I very much look forward to becoming Chairman when Party Gaming and bwin join forces. They are unquestionably two of the online gaming industry’s pioneers and great successes in their own right. Together, they are set to create a true global champion in the field of online gaming and eCommerce, a business sector that is clearly destined to expand.”
Duffy was Executive Chairman of Tradus, an internet retailer, from 2007 to 2008. He also formerly served in an executive role with Telewest, which became part of Virgin Media Group. Moreover, his CV features stints with GWR Group, Thames Television, HMV Media Group, Gartmore, Imperial Tobacco Group, Berisford, Cantab Pharmaceuticals, iMedia Holdings, Amteus, Tiscali, and the Intellectual Property Institute.
Party Gaming and bwin CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger issued a joint statement welcoming Duffy into the fold: “We are delighted that Simon, with his wealth of business experience from a career spanning many different industries and companies, will become Chairman when our transformational merger is complete. His achievements from working with consumer-facing businesses, especially those in the entertainment and online industries, will be an invaluable resource for us as we seek to exploit the significant opportunities that we expect to flow from the continued expansion of the online gaming industry.”
Also on the management front, Party Gaming announced that Rod Perry, who currently serves as the Chairman of the company, will be the new Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director once the merger is finalized. Party Gaming is fresh off reporting a 9% growth in overall revenue in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the third quarter of 2009. Revenue derived from online poker, however, sputtered by 5%.
Just about every facet of Party Gaming’s business reported growth except online poker. Revenue from casino operations was up slightly at 2% year-over-year, while bingo revenue ballooned 36% thanks to the company’s acquisition of Cashcade. Revenue from online sports betting experienced a substantial growth of 86% in part due to “a favorable run of football results in August across all the major football leagues.”
Party Gaming is the parent company of the World Poker Tour (WPT), whose host, Mike Sexton, is a sponsored pro of PartyPoker. The London-based company reported WPT revenues of €1.7 million, which was on par with the previous quarter. The WPT is fresh off crowning Randal Flowers the champion of its annual Festa al Lago in Las Vegas. Attendance at this year’s Festa al Lago stop was 335 players, a growth of 22% compared to 2009. However, the buy-in was lower at $10,000 compared to $15,000, resulting in a prize pool that was $800,000 smaller.
Meanwhile, bwin reported that its gross gaming revenues were up 21.9% in the third quarter of 2010 year-over-year. The company’s poker revenues mushroomed by nearly 50% due to the acquisition of Gioco Digitale and the incorporation of Betfair into the fold. bwin is the flagship site of the Ongame Network, which also includes sites like Betsafe, Hollywood Poker, and RedKings.
