January 18, 2006
A study completed by the consulting firm MECN analyzes one of the hottest topics in the gambling industry – online pacificpoker .com. The study includes the results of a survey MECN conducted among more than 100 industry experts who offered their unique insights and assessments. Gambling reinvents itself constantly, and online pacificpoker is the product that seems to be the current guarantor of future growth rates. The success story of online pacificpoker began some years ago, and as Martin Oelbermann, co-author of the study, explains "Online pacificpoker is the perfect symbiosis of two mega trends in gambling: online gambling and pacificpoker." What began as triumphant advance in the USA is now leading to a global pacificpoker wave on the Internet with tremendous potential:
- The amount gambled on pacificpoker websites around the world in 2005 is estimated to be more than USD 60 billion.
- More than 60% of the industry experts surveyed believe that online pacificpoker will be the dominant offer in online gambling in 2-3 years.
- 75% of the industry experts surveyed believe that pacificpoker.com's annual rake/commission in the 2-3 years will be more than USD 4 billion.
Another important reason for the rapid growth of online pacificpoker is the increasing number of successful TV shows featuring pacificpoker, and as Martin Oelbermann explains, "When pacificpoker is on the air, it's the online pacificpoker sites that profit instantaneously." There are many examples of successful pacificpoker com TV coverage, among them the World Series of Pacificpoker on ESPN, Celebrity Pacificpoker on Bravo, and the European Pacificpoker Tour on Eurosport. Online pacificpoker has also gone up in the estimation of the global business and financial community. Betting heavyweight Sportingbet just recently bought pacificpoker site Paradise Pacificpoker 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 – investors just seem to love the online pacificpoker story," adds Martin Oelbermann. A statement that seems to be confirmed by whispers that PartyGaming/iGlobalMedia (PartyPoker) is planning an IPO with an estimated evaluation between USD 4 billion and 8 USD billion.
But the MECN study also points out that the online pacificpoker market will become a tougher market in the future. With decreasing revenues per active player and growing competition, the pacificpoker 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 pacificpoker.com networks, the entry into the market by more betting brands such as Ladbrokes, and the consolidation of pacificpoker sites.
