Playtech buys Tribeca

As widely predicted the consolidation of online poker companies continues apace with the news that Playtech has agreed to buy rival Tribeca for $75 million to $139 million (depending on future revenues).

The merger will create one massive company which will dwarf competitors.

It makes the men in suits happy, but it’s mixed news for players. Migrating accounts is always a bit of a pain, and unfamiliarity can hurt your game. But in the long run the experience should be better, as there are more players and so more action.

VCPoker, PaddyPower Poker, Blue Square Poker and Scandinavian group, Expekt will all join the Playtech network as Tribeca is absorbed.

The deal is all part of the fallout from the changes to US legislation which has effectively closed the incredbily lucrative American internet gaming market.

This has meant the global market has become highly competitive since the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was passed, and operators have moved aggressively to carve up existing and potential new revenues.

Chief Executive of Playtech, Avigur Zmora, told Reuters: "This is a landmark deal for Playtech, which in one move, transforms the company into the world’s leading poker network that excludes U.S. players,"

"Of the non-U.S. businesses, I don’t think we’ll have close competition. Most probably we’ll be more than twice as big as the next one, with around $400,000 of rake per day."

The long term plan is for Tribeca player’s accounts to be migrated to Playtech over the next six months, while in the short term Playtech will decided what to do with Tribeca’s business structure.

"One of the companies is in the Philippines, which produces the front end — the look and feel (of websites)," said Zmora. "That’s a very cheap subsidiary and we need it," he added. "Everybody wants more languages, and different feel for different countries. Most probably we’ll pick that."

"The other subsidiary is in India, with 120 programmers, and I think we won’t take that," he said.