 | |
| Industry | Gambling |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Online poker |
| Parent | 888 Holdings |
| Website | 888poker.com |
888poker, formerly Pacific Poker, is an international online poker brand owned by 888 Holdings. [1] It was founded in 2002, and is headquartered in Gibraltar.
The poker provider was originally launched in 2002 as Pacific Poker and later rebranded 888poker. The site enjoyed early success due in part to a large number of players who joined from its more established sister site. [2]
When the United States Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, affirming that online gambling in the United States was illegal, 888poker was forced to close its doors to all American players. [3] Changes to online gaming regulations in 2013 in some states have prompted a return by 888 to the US market.
888poker has partnerships with several private gaming entities in Nevada, [4] and New Jersey. [5] Authorities in these states require that online casino providers join an offline partner in order to receive an operating license. On March 21, 2012, The Nevada Gaming Commission granted 888 a license as an Interactive Gaming Service Provider. 888 launched its online activity in Nevada officially on September 15, 2013. [6]
On November 26, 2013, 888 successfully launched its online poker site for online poker players in New Jersey. [7] 888 operates under a permit (permit number NJIGP 13-006 ) issued to its partner Caesars Interactive Entertainment (which is a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment Corporation) to offer online gaming in New Jersey. [8] Its poker offerings are available only in the state of New Jersey and to players who are at least 21 years old.
On May 2, 2013, 888 announced that it had been selected by the Delaware Lottery as its Primary Vendor to operate internet gaming systems and services. 888 has signed a partnership agreement with Scientific Games, the largest technology provider for electronic lottery gaming in the United States as part of its operating license in the State of Delaware. The service is scheduled to become available to Delaware residents before the end of 2013. [9]
In Denmark, 888poker was launched as a localized version in September 2015, after acquiring a license from the Gambling Authority. [10] After launch, 888 Denmark manager in Denmark, Simon Ravn, said: "We have a slightly different approach to the Danish poker market than many of the other poker providers; we want to offer value to all our players, rather than focus on sign up bonuses and new customers", adding that "people still want to play poker and we think we can offer a new, fresh experience with us". [11]
On June 15, 2012, the General Directorate for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), [12] published on its website the definitive list of operators licensed to operate in Spain, including 888 Spain plc. 888poker offers its online products, combined with a series of live tournaments among which the SuperStack, with events in several Spanish cities in February which distributed more than €400,000 in prize money during 2014. [13]
The 888poker offering includes poker game variations such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha (High & Low) and 7 Card Stud Poker, along with Sit & Go and Tournament games. [14] Products are available on all major platforms, including PC, Android, and Apple devices. A new version of the mobile app was launched on Aug 21, 2013, providing mobile access to multi-table tournaments.
888poker was the first online poker provider to introduce poker tables with webcam integration to allow its members to socialize more with other players and to make the overall gaming experience more human. [3]
Following 888poker's upgrade of its mobile app in July 2013, the company's then CEO, Brian Mattingly, revealed in an interview that 888poker's strong sales growth comes from the expanding mobile poker market. Mattingly stated that 17% of 888's UK wagers in general are placed on mobile devices and hoped that the company's UK mobile share will double in the next year and a half. [15]
888poker's loyalty programme, the 888poker Club, features daily free tournaments and offers players a chance to win $100,000 each month. Players also receive scratchcards for every five levels they climb. [16]
A variety of professional poker players and celebrities act as brand ambassadors for 888poker. Among the prominent persons who have joined Team 888poker are Dominik Nitsche, Martin Jacobson, Chris Moorman, [17] Sofia Lövgren, Kara Scott, Natalie Hof, Parker Talbot, Vivian Saliba [18] former Australian international cricket bowler Shane Warne, [19] UFC Welterweight champion George St. Pierre, [20] and the former footballer Denílson.
Uruguayan footballer Luis Suárez also signed a contract with 888poker in 2014. However, the partnership was dissolved due to the events of the 2014 World Cup.
888poker hosts the 888poker Live event several times a year, a series of poker tournaments held in several cities around the world. In addition, 888poker organizes three online legends - XL Inferno, XL Eclipse and XL Blizzard - collectively known as the XL Championships Series. [21]
888poker is the main sponsor and the exclusive organizer of qualifying rounds for since 2014 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. [22]
In 2016, 2017 and 2018, 888poker was the main sponsor of the Super High Roller Bowl hosted by Poker Central at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. This tournament was a buy-in of US$300,000, the second most expensive and the most expensive 2017 poker tournament worldwide. [23]
In November 2017, 888poker and the World Poker Tour (WPT) entered into a partnership that immediately enabled all players on 888poker to qualify directly for the WPT DeepStacks in Berlin. [24] [25] On February 11, 2019, WPT announced a new partnership with 888poker, which will see two new events added to the WPTDeepStacks Europe schedule. One in Malta and one in Portugal. [26]
In August 2019, 888poker held 888 Poker LIVE Sochi. It was the first event 888poker in Russia. [27] Russian poker player Vasily Tsapko became the winner of 888poker LIVE Main Event and had nearly $200k in cash.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker players to the Horseshoe Casino for a single tournament, with a set start and stop time, and a winner determined by a secret ballot of the seven players.
The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the final table of each tournament.
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 to $2.4 billion in 2005, while a survey carried out by DrKW and Global Betting and Gaming Consultants asserted online poker revenues in 2004 were at $1.4 billion. In a testimony before the United States Senate regarding Internet Gaming, Grant Eve, a Certified Public Accountant representing the US Accounting Firm Joseph Eve, Certified Public Accountants, estimated that one in every four dollars gambled is gambled online.
Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerous poker observers and contemporaries as the best all-around player in the world. In 2017, he was elected to the Poker Hall of Fame.
Gustav Hansen is a Danish professional poker player from Copenhagen, Denmark who has lived in Monaco since 2003. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, one WSOP bracelet and the 2007 Aussie Millions main event, and was the season one winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. Before turning to playing poker professionally in 1997, Hansen was already a world class backgammon player and a youth tennis champion.
Michael Richard Sexton was an American professional poker player and commentator. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009.
William Hill is a British gambling company founded in 1934. Its product offering includes sports betting, online casino, online poker, and online bingo. Business operations are led from its headquarters in London. The company was previously listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was acquired by Caesars Entertainment in April 2021. In July 2022, William Hill was subsequently acquired by 888 Holdings for £2.2 billion.
Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment was an online gambling company, formed by the March 2011 merger of PartyGaming plc and Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG. Formerly the world's largest publicly traded online gambling firm, it was best known for its online poker room PartyPoker, World Poker Tour and its sports betting brand Bwin.
partypoker is an online poker card room. Launched in 2001 by PartyGaming, the site has had up to 80,000 players logged-in and was the largest online card room until 2006. In 2011 PartyGaming merged with bwin to form Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment. As of 2017, it remains among the largest online poker card rooms. The site was endorsed by Mike Sexton, the former host of the World Poker Tour television show. The domain partypoker.com attracted at least 3.6 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com study. In 2016, after a protracted bidding process between 888 Holdings and GVC Holdings, Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment accepted GVC Holdings' bid for £1.1 billion. Today, the site is run by GVC Holdings and is available in 14 different languages. In addition to partypoker.com, partypoker also offers dedicated networks for French and Italian based players via partypoker.fr and partypoker.it, respectively. GVC Holdings also acquired Partycasino during the 2011 merger of Party Gaming.
888 Holdings plc, formerly Virtual Holdings Limited, is an international sports betting and gambling company. It owns brands such as 888casino, 888poker, 888sport, Mr Green, and William Hill. Business operations are led from its headquarters in Gibraltar, alongside satellite offices in Bucharest, Ceuta, Leeds, London, Malta, Sofia, and Tel Aviv. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.
PokerStars is an online poker cardroom. It is the largest real money online poker site in the world, controlling over two-thirds of the total online poker market, and can be accessed through downloadable poker clients for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.
Poker television programs had been extremely popular, especially in North America and Europe, following the poker boom. This has especially become the case since the invention of the "pocket cam" in 1997, which allows viewers at home to see each player's hole cards. However, viewership has been declining dramatically in recent years, due to laws that restricted online play in the United States.
Playtech plc is a gambling software development company founded in 1999. The company provides software for online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo games, online sports betting, scratch games, mobile gaming, live dealer games and fixed-odds arcade games online. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, formerly known as Betandwin, is an Austrian online betting brand acquired by Entain PLC. The group operated under international and regional licences in countries like Gibraltar, the Amerindian reserve of Kahnawake (Canada), and Belize; and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Croatia, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom in Europe. Bwin offered sports betting, poker, casino games, and soft and skill games, with most revenue coming from poker and sports betting. bwin had over 20 million registered customers in more than 25 core markets. Competence centres were located in Vienna, Stockholm, and Gibraltar.
Jonathan Little is an American professional poker player who won both the World Poker Tour's Season VI Mirage Poker Showdown and Season VII Foxwoods World Poker Finals and won the WPT Season VI Player of the Year award.
Maria Ho is a Taiwanese-American poker player and television host/commentator. One of the top-ranked female poker players in the world and a Women in Poker Hall of Fame inductee, she has won more than $5,000,000 in live tournaments.
Gambling in New Jersey includes casino gambling in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Lottery, horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, amusement games, and social gambling. New Jersey's gambling laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. In 2013, the state began to allow in-state online gambling. Five years later, the state won a lawsuit that dismantled Nevada's monopoly on legal sports betting.
Jason Scott 'JCarver' Somerville is an American poker player specializing in Texas Hold'em. He has one World Series of Poker bracelet and 3.9 million in live tournament results. He is the founder of Run It UP, a video/live stream series where viewers are encouraged to "watch, listen, and learn as he turns $50 into $10,000". He has been a contributor to the PokerVT training team as an advanced instructor in poker tournaments and a "Ones to Watch" for the World Poker Tour XI Season.
PokerNews is a website dedicated to providing poker industry news, live tournament coverage, strategy, player interviews and videos, podcasts, and information on bonuses and freeroll tournaments available at online poker rooms. It is run by iBus Media, whose majority owner is The Stars Group Inc., a Canadian gaming and online gambling company traded on Nasdaq and the Toronto Stock Exchange and headquartered in Toronto.
888casino, formerly Casino-on-Net, is an online casino brand owned by 888 Holdings. It was founded in 1997, and is headquartered in Gibraltar. It is one of the Internet's oldest casinos, and in 2013 it became the first exclusively online casino to be licensed in the United States.
Media related to 888poker at Wikimedia Commons