The World Poker Tour (WPT) announced Sunday that it has been acquired by Chinese gaming behemoth Ourgame International Holdings Limited. Ourgame will pay $35 million for the international poker tournament brand.
This is not the first time the World Poker Tour has changed ownership. Founded in 2002 (doesn’t it seem like it has been around for longer than that?), the Tour was controlled by World Poker Tour Enterprises until it was sold to PartyGaming (now bwin.party) for $12.3 million in November 2009.
“Having already established an exciting partnership with Ourgame, a high growth company led by an enthusiastic group that is fully invested in the global growth of the sport of poker, we are delighted to now become a fully-integrated member of the Ourgame family,” said WPT President & CEO Adam Pliska in a press release. “I want to thank bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger and bwin.party CFO Martin Weigold for all of their support over the last six years, and for helping facilitate this agreement.”
That previously established partnership with Ourgame was formed in December, when the two companies inked a deal that gave Ourgame exclusive rights to the WPT throughout much of Asia. Ourgame got the right to the WPT brand in China, Indonesia, Korea, and other countries. Ourgame also receive the rights to the WPT brand in Japan, though that was in a non-exclusive deal.
Ourgame was created in 1998, originally as an online card and board game developer. It claims to be the largest online games website in the world, having grown its games list to 30. The statistics it gives on its website seem to bear that out:
• 70 million registered users
• 700,000 paid members
• 30 million daily page views
• 10 million active weekly users
• 320,000 peak simultaneous users
Ourgame CEO Frank Ng also commented, saying, “World Poker Tour is unquestionably the global leader in organizing world-class poker events, and we are very proud to acquire one of the world’s greatest brands. WPT, with Ourgame as its new owner, will continue to expand its already impressive global presence, bringing poker and gaming entertainment to cities and homes around the world via television broadcasts, mobile devices, card tables, and more.”
Ourgame’s stock (6899:HK) closed at HKD 7.26 Monday, up 3.7 percent from its HKD 7.00 open. It had closed at HKD 7.25 on Friday, though, so day-to-day, it was not much of a move.
The World Poker Tour is currently in its 14th season. The WPT500 is currently underway at the ARIA Casino in Las Vegas; the $2 million guarantee event begins on July 2nd. The Main Tour is on hiatus until the end of July, when it will make a stop at the Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, Oklahoma.