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April 14, 2005 Thursday 03:30 PM GMT

HEADLINE: Research and Markets: Online Poker - Driving Gambling to New Heights

DATELINE: DUBLIN, Ireland April 14

BODY:
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c15766) has announced the addition of Online Poker - Driving Gambling To New Heights to their offering.

Detailed industry report includes results of a survey conducted among industry experts featuring gambling's hottest topic.

Gambling reinvents itself constantly, and online poker is the product that seems to be the current guarantor of future growth. Online poker is the perfect symbiosis of two mega trends in gambling: online gambling and poker. What began as triumphant advance in the US is now leading to a global poker wave on the Internet with tremendous potential.

- The amount gambled on poker websites around the world is estimated to be more than USD 60 billion for 2005.

- More than 60% of the industry experts surveyed believe that online poker will be the dominant offer in online gambling in 2-3 years.

- 75% of the industry experts surveyed believe that the global annual rake/commission in the 2-3 years will be more than USD 4 billion.

An important reason for the rapid growth of online poker is the increasing number of successful TV shows featuring poker. There are many examples of successful poker TV coverage, among them the World Series of Poker on ESPN, Celebrity Poker on Bravo, and the European Poker Tour on Eurosport.

Online poker has also gone up in the estimation of the global business and financial community. Betting heavyweight Sportingbet just recently bought poker site Paradise Poker for about USD 300 million -not a bad price for a site launched in 1999, but more than 53% of the experts surveyed believe this price to be appropriate.

But this study also points out that the online poker market will become a tougher market in the future. With decreasing revenues per active player and growing competition, the poker operators have to find successful strategies for the future. The industry insiders surveyed recommend as the most important strategies for the future the creation of poker networks, the entry into the market by more betting brands such as Ladbrokes, and the consolidation of poker sites.

When it comes to geographical expansion, Europe seems to be the place to go; 52% of the experts believe that Europe offers the greatest future potential for online poker. Market leader PartyPoker, for example, is planning to launch its presence on television throughout Europe very soon and already operates its site in one other language besides English -German.

Topics covered in the report include:

- Online poker -Symbiosis of the two current mega trends: online gambling and poker

- The growing online poker market
- Overview of relevant online poker sites
- Entertainment and poker -The perfect match
- Software providers
- Future development
- Recommendations
- Methodology
- Appendix

Companies mentioned:

- American Gaming Association
- Anheuser-Busch
- Apex Poker Network
- Bellagio Casino
- BetandWin
- Betfair
- Boss Media
- Bravo Network
- Cassava Enterprises
- Challenge TV
- eBay
- Empire Poker
- ESPN
- European Poker Tour
- Eurosport
- FHM
- GAT
- Golden Palace
- Harrah´s
- IGGBA
- IGlobalMedia/Partygaming
- International Poker Federation
- InterPoker.tv
- IntertopsPoker
- KahnawakeGaming Commission
- Ladbrokes Poker
- Merrill Lynch
- Microgaming
- Pacific Poker
- Paradise Poker
- PartyPoker
- Pizza Hut
- Playtech
- Poker Rook
- PokerStars
- PricewaterhouseCoopers
- Random Logic
- Sportingbet
- Sunset & Vine
- Travel Channel
- TribecaTables
- Ultimate Bet
- Victor Chandler
- WagerLogic
- WagerWorks
- World Poker Tour
- World Series of Poker
- Yahoo

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c15766

Laura Wood
Senior Manager
Research and Markets

press@researchandmarkets.com

Fax: +353 1 4100 980

CONTACT: Laura Wood, Senior Manager of Research and Markets,
press@researchandmarkets.com , or fax, +353-1-4100-980

Web site: http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c15766

SOURCE Research and Markets

URL: http://www.prnewswire.com

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