Betfair Poker launched its new poker room on the iPoker Network Tuesday, the first step in move that will eventually see all Betfair traffic removed from the Ongame Network.
Having just announced the decision to switch networks about two weeks ago, this would rank as one of the fastest switches we’ve seen in the industry. It is not done yet, though; there will be a transition period in place for six months. During that period, Betfair players that were already playing on the Ongame Network can choose to play on either platform. According to a message on Betfair’s site, players’ “existing loyalties remain…across both poker rooms.”
This will certainly be a jump in player traffic for Betfair and its customers. The Ongame Network currently ranks as the 14th largest network in terms of cash game players, according to PokerScout.com, with a seven-day average of 940 players. On the other hand, the iPoker Network is 4th with a seven-day average of 2,950 cash game players. Ongame was once one of the most popular networks in the online poker industry, but had fallen in recent years. Still, it was a top ten network until its largest room, bwin poker, finally made the jump from Ongame to the PartyPoker Network (bwin.com is owned by Party’s parent company, bwin.party).
The iPoker Network split itself into two related networks on September 1st in an effort to reward the member sites that recruited the most profitable customers. To gain inclusion into iPoker 2, a poker room must have a minimum of 6,000 active players per month as well as add least 850 new players per month, each of whom must contribute at least $5 in rake or tournament fees. Deposit to cashout ratios and other factors are also evaluated. In other words, to make it to iPoker 2, poker rooms must attract recreational players, the kind of players who add to the poker economy by reloading.
“New Betfair,” as it is being called, will join iPoker 2, joining the likes of Paddy Power Poker, William Hill, Everest Poker, Bet365, Poker770, Titan Poker, and Winner Poker. Betfair Poker top man Matt Mowlam told PokerNews about his site’s inclusion in the preferred iPoker network, saying, “With Betfair’s large recreational player base, it is both a logical and beneficial move for us to join a network with a comparable player base. We aim to work in conjunction with Playtech to ensure that through a combination of player segregation and product development we are able to nurture our recreational players so that they are able to enjoy the best playing experience possible.”
The New Betfair poker client is currently available for download on both the Betfair.com and Betfair.es websites. On the .com site, the Ongame client can still be downloaded, as well, by following the “Keep playing Classic Betfair Poker” at the bottom of the home page.