Caesars Acquire EA’s Share in WSOP Social Poker App
In its attempt to deliver the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand across multiple channels, Caesars Entertainment has purchased all interests in the WSOP play money social poker app. The company bought shares in the app belonging to the Electronic Arts software group for an undisclosed sum and will now develop the game further in its new social poker development studio, which is situated in Montreal, Canada.
The Montreal studio has 19 members of staff who will all report to Playtika, the social gaming division of Caesars. In May of 2011, Caesars reached a $90 million deal to purchased 51% of Playtika, who are the original developers of the popular social brand Slotomania. Seven months after the purchase, Caesars exercised its option to fully buy-out the company.
“We’ve had over 100 million downloads, and we have almost 500 employees in Tel Aviv, Ukraine, Belarus, Santa Monica and now Montreal,” said Mitch Garber, the former CEO of Party Gaming who now heads Caesar’s social gaming division. “We’re one of the largest social mobile app development companies in the world.”
Since its creation, the WSOP social poker app has been downloaded more than six million times. As Caesars prepare to launch its first real money online poker site based on the theme of the world famous live poker tournament, it seemed only natural for the group to purchase complete control over the app from EA.
EA will now transfer the World Series of Poker game assets and intellectual property over to Caesars under the terms of the agreement, allowing them to incorporate the brand in its entirety in one location.
Purchasing the WSOP gambling app, which is compatible with multiple platforms including Kindle, Facebook, Android and iOS devices, is a smart move for Caesars Entertainment. According to mobile experts Juniper Research, mobile is the fastest growing sector in the gambling industry and is set to be worth $100 billion by 2017.
Online betting providers, such as Perhead, Playtech and Microgaming already offer casino software tailored to mobile wagering, and this move will allow Caesars to give the WSOP a presence on the mobile platform.
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