Two Poker Giants Merge

Two of the most popular online casinos have decided to join forces, at least when it comes to online poker. Cryptologic is based out of Dublin, Ireland and is one of the most powerful poker software and network providers in the online casino industry. Not to be out done, they have decided to increase their value by adding the strengths of the Swedish online poker provider, Boss Media AB. The merger is supposed to take full effect in the firs fiscal quarter of 2009. The merger will affect the major poker licensees, Boss Media’s International Poker Network. This is a great idea especially since the popularity of online poker has risen dramatically in the past few years.

Recently the trend that Cryptologic has been following for its online casinos is that of having branded games. This seems to be a high selling point and attracts players to their website if they have more recognizable games. This will be a beneficial merger for both companies involved. The people at Cryptologic will be able to focus on their specialties and Boss Media will be able to head up the online poker division of the online casino. Not to mention that this will ultimately save Cryptologic $12-$15 million a year in internet poker related costs.

In fact, they may be setting a trend for online casinos to merge with online poker powerhouses. The popular websites InterPoker and Parbet are also going to be merging in the first quarter of 2009. This will be a great thing for all players involved, as they will have the best of both worlds. They will be able to have their cake and eat it too, at least in the sense that hey will have the ability to play their favorite licensed games and have the strength of the already established poker community from the folks over at Boss Media.

The president and CEO of the online casino, Cryptologic says, "CryptoLogic's aggressive action on its new strategy, as witnessed in several recent announcements - and our new agreement with Boss Media, is a major step in our journey back to growth, profitability and returning shareholder value.” He also added, “This partnership provides our poker customers with access to one of the largest poker networks in the world, while helping CryptoLogic reduce costs substantially. Also, it will allow us to focus on the continued development and licensing of the Internet's most innovative casino games, and to leverage our lead in branded content games in partnership with the world's top entertainment brands." This will truly make this one of the top online casinos out there.