As part of a 4-point plan to revitalize its poker network, bwin.party will unveil an all-new poker client with new features and design in Q1 2013. The news came in the presentation of bwin.party’s half year results which showed the expected decline in revenues from poker.
The company has grasped the nettle and poker is now listed at the top of its priorities list for the rest of 2012. The new platform will play a key role in rebuilding player volumes which have fallen 43% on the last year:
Comprising many new features and a new look and feel, our objective is to once again make PartyPoker the world’s favourite poker room and return poker to growth.
In recent months iPoker has consolidated its position as number two ranked by cash game traffic—and can soon expect a boost in numbers—leaving the PartyPoker network stuck in third.
The new poker platform is the last in a four-point plan to restore its position in the poker world. Already in place in beta and due to be extended across all channels within a month is PartyPoker’s new fast-fold poker game, FastForward Poker. Launched a month or so later than its iPoker competitor Speed Hold’em, FastForward should at least prevent the gap between the two companies growing larger, and stop the loss of players moving to PokerStars’ Zoom.
The company has decided that the current equilibrium between losing and winning players is not in their long term interests. The recent withdrawal of high stakes tables above $5/$10 is part of its plan to improve their “poker ecology.” This and other measures are expected to “to reduce the ability for net depositing, lower stakes players to lose to higher stakes experienced players as well as improve the liquidity at lower stake levels.”
The final element of the plan will be the integration of bwin players onto the PartyPoker platform, a process which has been expected for over a year but has suffered delays due to the continued setbacks in the sale of the Ongame network.
However, bwin.party is still committed to the player migration by the end of 2012, which will provide a welcome boost to both their international and French markets.
Half year results showed an 8% fall in revenues from poker on a like for like basis, against a background of a share price that has fallen by 44% since the beginning of the year. Shareholders as well as players will be hoping that the new strategy be a success.
