GSOP IV attracts most entrants yet

Ten percent more participants joined Ongame Network’s Grand Series of Poker (GSOP) fourth edition than September’s edition three, making GSOP IV a resounding network-wide success.

GSOP IV was a series of 17 online events where network players competed in Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud and 5 Card Draw tournaments in an intense two weeks from 24 January to 7 February 2010.

Over 16,000 entrants from all network partners challenged for the final, total prize pool of $3,787,790 and ultimately tickets for the high-stakes Grand Slam Final on 14 February 2010.

The $5,000 Grand Slam Final was hard-fought by 106 players, all eyeing the $519,400 prize pool. The top three places were taken by players representing different network partners:

1. iLoveJazz from Scandic Bookmakers won $140,238
2. IsSittingOut from Betsafe won $93,492
3. tbac1 from bwin won $62,328

Leaderboard results from all GSOP IV online events and the Grand Slam Final are listed on www.gsop.info

Ongame Network injects player value into rakeback debate

Markus Lind, Business Development Manager for Ongame Network and liquidity management expert, outlines Ongame Network’s thinking on maintaining a healthy online poker network by questioning the current way that players are valued.

Certain subjects become fashionable. But as soon as the hype subsides we move on to the next hot topic. At the moment, it seems that everyone is trying to join the online poker liquidity management debate.

This is welcome news for Ongame Network as we have been talking about this for more than three years and would like to seize the opportunity to move the conversation forward by discussing it in the context of a maturing online poker business model.

Question the business model
As in any fast-moving industry, questioning how components of your business model must move with the times is good practice. Here we discuss some of these components – rakeback, player value, drain and rake redistribution – which are individual pieces of the bigger picture called liquidity management.

Continue reading the full article in PDF format here

This article is also published in the magazine “Inside Poker Business”, January/February 2010 issue.

Live Event schedule 2010 unveiled

Live Events are an essential part of Ongame Network’s service to partners and 2010 sees first-time participation in April’s Irish Poker Open. Ongame Network can now unveil the calendar of supported events for early 2010 here.

Live Events are integrated into Ongame Network’s extensive online tournament offering. Prize packages and direct buy ins are available to network partners, who actively promote these events and associated online finals to their players. Partner feedback shows that online players are enthusiastic about the chance to play live poker in many exciting locations worldwide.

Aussie Millions, well attended by partners
The year kicks off with Aussie Millions from 24-31 January 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. Players from BestPoker, bwin, PAF, Scandic Bookmakers and Winamax will be at the live tables having qualified from network-wide online finals played from October to December 2009.

Irish Poker Open, first time attendance
For the first time Ongame Network is joining the Irish Poker Open in Dublin, Ireland from 2-5 April 2010. Interest is building as online finals start across the network on 11 February and buy ins are now available for partners.

Another route to Dublin is to win first prize in Ongame Network’s Winter SNG Decathlon tournament promotion, running 10-16 February, where a package of Irish Poker Open tickets, spending money and hotel accommodation is up for grabs.

Ongame Network’s dedicated Live Event and Tournament Management teams evaluate international live poker tours looking for events that add value to network players and partners. Players can often meet the Ongame Network team at these live events and we frequently blog live, following how network players are doing at the poker tables.

Check out Ongame Network’s schedule of Live Events for 2010 here.

Grand Series of Poker returns, edition four

Ongame Network’s prestigious Grand Series of Poker (GSOP) is returning for a fourth edition from 24 January to 7 February 2010.

GSOP IV is a series of 17 online finals where network players compete in Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 7 Card Stud and 5 Card Draw tournaments during an intense two weeks, challenging for a guaranteed prize pool of $3,155,000 and ultimately tickets for the high-stakes Grand Slam Final on 14 February 2010.

The upcoming fourth edition builds on September’s successful GSOP III where 14,700 entrants played for a $3,658,360 final prize pool and the $5,000 Grand Slam Final had 116 players competing for the best-yet prize pool of $580,000.

GSOP IV starts on 24 January 2010 and Ongame Network’s partners actively promote this exciting tournament to their players. The GSOP IV online final schedule, leader boards and Grand Slam Final information is available at www.gsop.info

Meet Ongame Network at IGE

Ongame Network is exhibiting at the International Gaming Expo (IGE) in London from 26-28 January 2010.

Come and experience the P5 Poker Engine, with live P5 Game Clients in both PC and Mac versions, at booth 5250.

The Ongame Network sales team will be available throughout the event and to pre-book a meeting, please send an email to sales@ongamenetwork.com

Ongame Network adds innovative new Sit & Go formats

Coinflip and SNG Decathlon are Ongame Network’s newest online tournament offerings and take the Sit & Go format to new, innovative levels.

Ongame Network has the liquidity to run an extensive range of tournaments catering for different player types across multiple time zones. Guarantees are increasing across the network and currently total over $14 million per month. Adding new, exciting formats attracts players, which in turn, continues the upward guarantee trend.

Coinflip, generating 275,000 entrants per week
Coinflip is a fast Sit & Go where players are all in at the first hand and is averaging 10,000 plays per day since launch in September 2009.

Seen by partners as an excellent player engagement tool and generating 275,000 entrants per week across the network, Coinflip is often simultaneously played while other tournaments are underway. As the Coinflip format is so fast with instant results, it is an excellent way of introducing online casino players to poker.

Coinflip Sit & Go in action: tournament complete in less than 30 seconds.

SNG Decathlon returning February 2010
Creatively packaging Sit & Gos into one branded promotion, the SNG Decathlon is series of 10 tournaments with $50,000 worth of prizes. Run from 21-28 October 2009, 42,000 network players took part in the SNG Decathlon and this popular promotion is returning from 10-16 February 2010 as the Winter SNG Decathlon.

Ongame Network’s poker tournament management expertise inspires these new formats and this innovation underpins the continued success of Ongame Network’s tournament offering.

An overview of Ongame Network’s branded tournaments is available here.

Partners bwin and Betsson win at EGR Awards 2009

Bwin and Betsson won categories at this week’s EGR Awards 2009 and as valued network partners, Ongame Network congratulates them on their success.

Bwin won “Operator of the Year” and the EGR Awards judges praised the company for its “consistency, leadership, scale, the strength of the brand, for promoting responsible gaming, and for showing continued, consistent leadership.”

Betsson won the “Socially Responsible Operator of the Year” award and as published on eGaming Review’s website, Betsson’s responsible gaming and corporate social responsibility manager Hillevi Stuhrenberg said “Fair and fun gaming is our core concept and I am very glad that has been recognised.”

Ongame Network attended the awards dinner held on 30 November 2009 and the associated EGR Live two-day conference.

“Two of our partners being recognized by the industry is exciting news and we congratulate both bwin and Betsson for this achievement,” said Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network.

Read more about the EGR Awards 2009 here.

Ongame Network live event blog, Prague 1-6 Dec

The final 2009 event of the PokerStars.com EPT is in Prague, Czech Republic from 1-6 December and Ongame Network is blogging from this live tournament.

There has been strong interest in the Prague live event across the network with players representing Bet24, Betsafe, Goalwin, Poker.gr, PokerLoco, RedKings, Scandic Bookmakers and Winamax taking part as online final winners and direct buy-ins.

To keep up with all the action, follow our blog here.

Meet Ongame Network at EGR Live

Ongame Network is exhibiting at EGR Live in London, UK from 30 November to 1 December 2009.

Come and talk to us about the P5 Poker Engine, and how we can grow your poker business, at meeting area D42.

Visit the EGR Live homepage here

Annual Let’s Network conference valued by partners

Ongame Network meets operator partners on a regular basis and the annual Let’s Network conference is a calendar highlight. This year’s event was the best attended to date with delegates representing the majority of network partners.

Held in Stockholm, Sweden from 12-13 October 2009, the Let’s Network agenda was a mix of presentations, workshops and informal discussions, and gave partners the opportunity to ask questions and debate issues in a relaxed setting.

“This year’s conference was a great success where we all enjoyed exchanging ideas and views,” said Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network.

“We listened to all the feedback our partners shared with us during this two-day get-together and will use it to help shape our future plans.”

Well-attended, including Betsafe and GalaCoral
Let’s Network is an annual network-wide information exchange forum and an important part of Ongame Network’s uniquely open dialog with partners.

“Let’s Network was a great event hosted by Ongame Network that gave us, as an operator, valuable time face-to-face with our supplier to discuss issues and raise our current and future concerns,” said Herbert Paradis, Poker Manager at Betsafe.

“In addition to meeting other operators on the network, this event gave us a better view of how to make sound decisions for future strategies. As well as being good for business, Ongame Network’s event offered us plenty of time to network and of course, play some live poker. I am looking forward to the next Let’s Network conference.”

GalaCoral underscores this view by concluding:

“Let’s Network is the operator event I most look forward to during the year. It is the perfect balance of information, networking and fun,” said Adam Ruffet, Poker Manager at GalaCoral.

The Let’s Network event also enables partners and the Ongame Network team to reinforce this valuable working relationship by including some fun in the form of a live poker tournament. Played late into the night, everyone enjoyed the chance to sharpen up their live poker skills by playing for pride and prizes.

Ongame Network signs EurosportBET

Gibraltar – September 14, 2009 – Ongame Network Ltd today unveiled EurosportBET as its newest partner operator who will implement Ongame Network’s P5 Poker Engine for their new UK online poker offering. The addition of this major sporting and entertainment brand to Ongame Network is a significant strategic step.

Ongame Network will roll out EurosportBET’s new poker service during mid-September 2009 using the P5 Poker Engine, the latest edition of Ongame Network’s online poker software platform. Exclusively operating within the UK e-gaming jurisdiction, EurosportBET is adding poker to its existing online sports betting service launched in June 2009 in line with Eurosport’s strategy to develop a premium sports entertainment offer in Europe.

“This new partnership showcases the full potential of the P5 Poker Engine and marks the beginning of a new working relationship between Ongame Network and EurosportBET,” said Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network. “We believe that online poker is an entertainment product and attracting mass-market brands such as Eurosport is part of our strategy.”

EurosportBET is the commercial brand of SPS SA and its subsidiary SPS Betting (Alderney) Ltd., which is licensed by the Alderney Gambling Control Commission. EurosportBET shares Eurosport’s commitment to a passionate, professional and impartial approach to sports. Committed to guaranteeing the highest level of security and responsible gaming practices, EurosportBET aims to become a key player throughout Europe in the online betting and gaming industry by offering a new entertainment experience with premium sports and gaming products.

“We select business partners who share the same values of working within national online gaming laws. Ongame Network is such a company. The implementation of the P5 Poker Engine has been smoothly managed and we look forward to our UK online poker service taking off, giving us a foundation for future European projects,” said Olivier Ou Ramdane, CEO of SPS.

To learn more and see the P5 Poker Engine in action, Ongame Network is exhibiting at EiG Expo (15-17 September, Copenhagen) at stand 253.

About Ongame Network
Ongame Network is one of the world’s largest poker networks and a leading supplier of online and mobile poker software. The network includes over 20 of the e-gaming industry’s strongest brands and operators, and up to 45,000 concurrent players at peak times during the day. The company offers both operators and their players a wide variety of ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a subsidiary of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment.

About SPS and EurosportBET
SPS is a joint venture between Serendipity Investment and Eurosport. The company was established in June 2008 in order to create and manage EurosportBET and its new online sports betting and gaming divisions. SPS has launched EurosportBET.co.uk in the UK in June this year. The plan is to develop EurosportBET further in those European countries with a fully regulated gambling sector. SPS has a fast growing team based in Paris and Guernsey and led by Olivier Ou Ramdane.

Meet Ongame Network at EiG

Ongame Network is exhibiting at EiG Congress and Expo in Copenhagen from September 15-17, 2009.

Come and talk to us about the P5 Poker Engine, the industry’s newest poker platform, at booth 253.

In addition to experiencing live P5 Game Clients running our in booth, you can also attend a World Poker Congress session where Markus Lind, Business Development Manager at Ongame Network, will be sharing his liquidity management experience – “Rake Back the debate continues” at 11.30am on September 17.

Visit the EiG homepage here

P5 Poker Engine migration successful

Ongame Network has successfully migrated all its existing partners to the P5 Poker Engine, the industry’s newest poker platform, rolling out P5 Game Clients™ across the whole network.

New Game Clients
Customers of Ongame Network’s over twenty pre-eminent gaming partners can now play online poker through the new P5 Game Clients offering a smarter interface, leaner graphics and simplified game selection. For the benefit of partners, the P5 Game Clients also introduce a host of new functionality catering to their needs for diversification and customer communication. The product targets PC and Mac users alike, coming in full feature versions for both.

“We’re delighted to be able to show off some of P5’s end-user gains. It sets the standard for what is to come when we take further advantage of the P5 technology and continue to redefine how online poker should be experienced.” says Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network.

Powerful admin tool for partners
Also launched is the industry’s most powerful tool for managing and setting up poker tournaments, Tourplanner™. TourPlanner provides Ongame Network partners full access to its entire range of tournaments; enabling them to tailor their offering entirely to their players’ liking.

Stand-alone platform
The P5 Poker Engine can be used as a fully functioning stand-alone platform and has been powering Ongame Network’s Italian operation since October 2008.

“One of the most crucial aspects of the P5 Poker Engine is its ability to power independent gaming platforms and link locally hosted IT centers to joint gaming environments. We are delighted to now be able to deliver such a solution to our growing list of WLA and government licensed prospects.” says Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network.

Visit www.p5pokerengine.com for more information.

Ongame Network reports from the WSOP 2009 Main Event

Ongame Network’s reporting team is in Las Vegas for the WSOP 2009 Main Event. During the next two weeks the reporters will be following 35 players from the network and will support them in their battle for this year’s bracelet. Great things can be expected from the network’s players, so you don’t want to miss out on the updates from Las Vegas.

Click here to read the blog!

Ongame Network to end partnership with Stryyke

Ongame Network and poker operator Stryyke have agreed to terminate their partnership effectively by June 17th. Stryyke has been part of the network since July 2007.

APT Macau

We are pleased to announce the enlargement of our extensive Live Event Offering with the participation in the Asian Poker Tour Macau 2009 Main Event.

The tournament will be held from August 19-23 and promises to be one of the most exciting events for the year. The majority of the Ongame Network partners will run qualifiers from June 25th. The APT (Asian Poker Tour) Macau is the biggest poker event on the world’s biggest continent. The Poker Tour continues to be highly anticipated by poker players and enthusiasts in Asia and all over the world so we are expecting a strong interest from the players for the exclusive event in Macau.

Bestpoker.com player secures WPT Venice title.

For one customer of our partner site Bestpoker.com, Ragnar Åström, the proposition of winning one of the first ever World Poker Tour bracelets on European soil turned into reality.

A multitude of our partners opted to sign up for the offer to host exclusive satellites  to the WPT Venice powered by bwin tournament that ended on May 12. In total 25 partner players qualified for the event without incurring any costs for partners. But none, of course, faired better than Bestpoker.com player Ragnar Åström who went home with almost €400,000 on top the title and the glory. 

For information about WPT Venice, please visit www.wptvenice.com.
For more information about Bestpoker.com, please visit www.bestpoker.com.

Grand Series of Poker II a roaring success

As the owners of the Grand Series of Poker, we are pleased to conclude that the second edition of the online poker series that ran across all of our partner sites April 12^th to April 26^th, was a stunning success. In total, 16,711 players battled in seventeen widely different events for a total of more than 3.9 million dollars in prize money.

What makes the Grand Series of Poker product stand out from similar competitive products is the flagship multi-day Grand Tournament that offers players unrivalled playability, the inclusion of side betting as well as the wide array of formats and buy-ins covered by the series.

For more information about Grand Series of Poker and how it can enhance your tournament schedule, please visit www.gsop.info.

Exclusive satellite rights to WPT Venice secured

The World Poker Tour is set to make a stunning return to European soil in May with the WPT Venice. Powered by bwin, the event promises to bring everything that the World Poker Tour is about to one of Europe’s oldest and most spectacular casinos situated on the shorefront of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy.

Ongame Network has secured the exclusive rights to offer its partners the chance to run joint qualifiers to this event. Partners who choose to jump at this opportunity will be able to offer their players the full WPT experience and the chance to collect one of the first WPT bracelets ever at stake on European soil – without having to carry the financial risk alone or do any of the work involved with tournament and player administration.

No other online poker operator will be able to run official online satellites to this event.

Ongame Network moves into the world of television

Gibraltar, March 9, 2009
Ongame Network Ltd, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment, announces a partner agreement with Smart Gaming Group, as the latest addition to their poker network.

Smart Gaming Group offers gaming through live TV shows 24/7 to a large player base. Until now, the UK based online gaming operator has focused on live casino games and is now broadening its offering with online poker.

“Smart Gaming Group is approaching their customers with live TV shows, which makes them highly interesting for our poker network. With a significant cross-selling potential, Ongame Network believes this partnership will be profitable for both parties”, says Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer at bwin Group.

The addition of Smart Gaming Group is in keeping with Ongame Network’s strategy to expand into new markets through established brands, in order to strengthen its position as one of the world’s largest poker networks.

“We’ve chosen to work with Ongame Network because of their proven track record of excellence in software technology, player liquidity and customer support. Ongame Network’s commitment to innovation and European player-focused approach fits perfectly with Smart Gaming Group’s aims, and dovetails with our roadmap for future prosperity”, says Marc Tibbo, Poker Manager at Smart Gaming Group.

Fore more information, please contact our press officer Kevin O’Neal.
Phone: +43 (0)50 858 24010
Email: Kevin.ONeal@bwin.org

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is one of the world’s largest poker networks and a leading supplier of online and mobile poker software. The network includes more than 30 of the e-gaming industry’s strongest brands, and more than 40,000 players play concurrently at peak times during the day. The company offers both operators and their players a wide variety of ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a subsidiary of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment. Further information can be found at www.ongamenetwork.com.

Premiere success for new Ongame Network tournament

Last weekend saw the premiere of Ongame Network’s new tournament product – the ChampionChip – and it seems to be the new word on every player’s lips this week. It attracted a total of 2,322 players battling for a massive prize pot of $441,180, well exceeding the guarantee of $300,000! The first prize winner walked away with more than $70,000 making this one of the most successful tournament premieres in the Networks history.

The ChampionChip is the replacement of Ongame Network’s previous weekly tournament, The Big Deal. The big difference between them is the huge guaranteed prize pool of $300,000 which makes ChampionChip the biggest weekly tournament to date and surely the player’s new favorite.

The ChampionChip runs every Sunday at 18:00 CET and registration opens well in advance for each tournament. Make sure not to miss it!

Ongame Network to showcase P5 Poker Engine at IGE

Gibraltar, January 26, 2009
Ongame Network Ltd, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment, will showcase their newly released P5 Poker Engine at the International Gaming Expo (IGE) in London from January 27-29. This will be Ongame Network’s first official appearance after the deployment of their standalone network for the Italian market, which is fully integrated with the P5 Poker Engine technology.

“The Italian network is powered by the new P5 technology which offers unrivalled performance, reliability and speed – coupled with great graphics and usability. The P5 Poker Engine represents a shift in mentality as much as it represents a shift in technology: it is completely modular and provides scalability without risking stability. P5 is paving the way for change”, says Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer at bwin.

The P5 Poker Engine has been a great success since its release in Italy, and Ongame Network is looking forward to presenting all the latest P5 opportunities at IGE. The next step is to implement the P5 Poker Engine with its brand new technology and enhanced features to all Ongame Network partners.

To find out more on how you can develop your business, please visit Ongame Network at stand 5250.

Fore more information, please contact our Press Officer Kevin O’Neal.
Phone: +43 (0)50 858 24010
Email: Kevin.ONeal@bwin.org

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is one of the world’s largest poker networks and a leading supplier of online and mobile poker software. The network includes more than 30 of the e-gaming industry’s strongest brands, and more than 40,000 players play concurrently at peak times during the day. The company offers both operators and their players a wide variety of ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a subsidiary of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment. Further information can be found at www.ongamenetwork.com

Ongame Network makes a safe bet with Betsafe

Gibraltar, January 15, 2008 – Ongame Network Ltd, a subsidiary of the bwin Group and a leading provider of online poker software, has recently signed a partner agreement with Betsafe. With more than 150,000 customers from more than 100 countries, Betsafe is considered a perfect match for Ongame Network and consistent with the network’s strategy to sign up established brands in one of the world’s largest poker networks.

“We feel confident that Betsafe is the right partner for us, and we are looking forward to a successful and long lasting partnership. Betsafe has the knowledge and expertise needed, and contributes to the liquidity of an interesting customer segment perfectly suited for Ongame Network”, says Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer at bwin Group.

Since its launch in January 2006, Betsafe has steadily grown into one of the most trustworthy and appreciated gaming companies on the market. In 2008 Betsafe received the award for “The World’s best bookmaker” from the gaming magazine TIPS, and has now decided to focus and develop their poker product offering.

”We looked into many options but when the possibility with Ongame Network arose, it was an easy choice. Ongame Network has a great selection of tournaments, promotions and is a leading innovative poker software supplier. We are now in a position to offer a world class poker product”, says Henrik Persson, CEO at Betsafe.

For more information, please contact our press officer Kevin O’Neal.
Phone: +43 (0)50 858 24010
Email: Kevin.ONeal@bwin.org

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is one of the world’s largest poker networks and a leading supplier of online and mobile poker software. The network includes more than 30 of the e-gaming industry’s strongest brands, and more than 40,000 players play concurrently at peak times during the day. The company offers both operators and their players a wide variety of ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a subsidiary of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment. Further information can be found at www.ongamenetwork.com

More than $1,200,000 reasons to praise November’s Grand Tournament

November’s Grand Tournament turned out to be a huge success! With more than 1200 unique participants and over $1,200,000 in distributed prize money, it reached a new top-mark in Ongame Networks tournament history, making this the single biggest Grand Tournament ever!

The Grand Tournament, which is based on the exclusive Heat Format that allows online poker vendors to run tournaments featuring multiple starting days, is hosted once a month for the brands of Ongame Network. It has been proven with unrivalled playability and is a long-standing player favorite, which this month definitely proved in more than one thousand ways.

NextPoker to leave Ongame Network

Gibraltar, November 3
Due to repeated violations of the rakeback policy, Ongame Network will exclude NextPoker from their poker network effectively by the 1^st of November 2008. Ongame Network is taking this firm action in order to further clarify their intentions and standpoint regarding a rakeback-free poker network.

“Nextpoker has repeatedly violated the terms and conditions of our rakeback policy, and we therefore see no solution other than to exclude them from our poker network. This action is seen as a regrettable but required step towards our vision of operating a rakeback-free network.” says Press Officer Kevin O’Neal.

NextPoker will be excluded from the poker network without delay. Ongame Network regrets having to take such decisive action but points out the importance of their rakeback policy.

For more information please contact:
Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer
bwin Interactive Entertainment AG
Börsegasse 11, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel: +43 (0)50 858-24010
E-mail: press@bwin.org
www.bwin.org

Ongame Network to Speak on Liquidity Management at World Poker Congress in Hungary

Ongame Network will attend the World Poker Congress in Hungary on October 29-30 and address the issue of liquidity management today and in the future.

Gibraltar, October 27, 2008 – The focus of Ongame Network’s presentation at the World Poker Congress will be on liquidity management: What is liquidity? Are there different forms of liquidity? How is it best achieved? The presentation will also address the issue of liquidity management in the future.

The presentation aims to highlight what liquidity means from the operator, network and player perspective and goes into detail how Ongame Network chooses to work in this area: What is the correct mix of player types needed to make up the optimal player base, and how is this achieved?

Some thoughts on liquidity management in the future and on new markets will be offered; the tools that are available and how legal changes affect this area. Specifically with regard to Italy, a new market for poker, where Ongame Network recently launched its new P5 poker engine.

“P5 is more than a platform or a new generation, it’s an ecosystem consisting of the correct mix of player types in the right game – all the time. From the individual player perspective, there will be instant access to the desired games at any time”, says Press Officer Kevin O’Neal.

Liquidity management is further improved with the new P5 engine, which strengthens Ongame Network’s position as the best network for operators.

Ongame Network launches Italian facing Network

Gibraltar, October 20, 2008 – Responding to the change in the legal environment around gaming in Italy, Ongame Network Ltd. a subsidiary of the world’s largest online gaming company – bwin Interactive Entertainment AG – is proud to announce the launch of an online poker network exclusively for residents in Italy. The Italian network is the first commercially available product fully integrated with the recently announced P5 Poker Engine and promises a stunning poker playing experience on a technical platform that is both flexible and easily managed, upgraded and expanded.

“The Italian network is powered by the new P5 technology which offers unrivalled performance, reliability and speed – coupled with great graphics and usability. The P5 Poker Engine represents a shift in mentality as much as it represents a shift in technology: it is completely modular and provides scalability without risking stability.” says Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer at bwin.

The Italian network is monitored by the Italian authorities and in full compliance with the new regulations and will be backed by one of Italy’s top online gaming destinations, www.bwin.it. Starting with bwin, Ongame Network is already in talks with additional operators about joining the new Italian online poker network.

For more information please contact:
Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer
Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG
Börsegasse 11, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel: +43 (0)50 858-24010
E-mail: press@bwin.org
www.bwin.org

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. The company provides Windows, Java and mobile poker to global partners who differentiate their own brands, technologies and promotional strategies. The network consists of 25 operators, and more than 35,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times during the day. This makes Ongame Network one of the world’s largest poker networks, offering both operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a subsidiary of bwin, the world’s leading provider of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

About bwin:
The bwin Group has over 13 million registered customers (including 8 million “play money” customers) in over 25 core target markets and operates platforms for sports betting, poker, casino games, soft games and skill games. Under various licences (e.g. in Germany, Italy and Gibraltar), it also offers audio and video streaming of major sporting events (such as matches of the German Soccer League) through subsidiaries and associated companies. The parent Company, bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “Bwin”, Reuters ID code “Bwin.VI”). All details about the Company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag

Expanding the Scandinavian market

Ongame Network is happy to welcome PokerIdol to the innovative and aggregated Ongame poker network. As PokerIdol being one of the fastest growing online gaming brands in Scandinavia, Ongame Network sees a bright future for this partnership by continuing to expand its market share in Europe. The combination of PokerIdols’ experienced management team together with Ongame Networks world leading poker products promises to be an perfect match, bearing fruit to the whole network.

PokerIdols’ vision is to become the largest gaming company on the Scandinavian market, as well as for other European customers, with a strong focus on attending major live events with their constantly growing and popular Team PokerIdol. For more information, please visit www.pokeridol.com.

Ongame Network parts ways with Mansion (Gibraltar) Limited

In a mutual decision move, Gibraltar-based gaming site Mansion.com will be excluded from the Ongame Network as of September 24th, 2008. Due to strategic differences it has been decided to end the two companies’ dynamic one-year partnership before Ongame Network and its partner sites enter the preparation phase of launch of a new online poker network based on the recently announced P5 Poker Engine product.

Ongame Network is proud to have been selected the exclusive provider of online poker solutions for the various Mansion.com brands and wish Mansion.com the best of luck in their future ventures.

New Poker Engine revealed at EiG

Gibraltar, September 22, 2008

During the European i-Gaming Congress and Expo this week in Barcelona, Ongame Network Ltd. will showcase the first ever game engine designed specifically for online poker. Ongame Network is a subsidiary of Vienna-based bwin Interactive Entertainment AG – the world’s largest online gaming company.

The new P5 Poker Engine will dramatically improve the performance of the company’s online poker platform and change the way online poker is played, experienced and perceived.

“We decided to go to the very heart of our platform and rethink every line of code – and re-write it if necessary. P5 represents a shift in mentality as much as it represents a shift in technology. We are already very excited about what P5 enables us to – but this is nothing compared to what you will see in the months to come.” says Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer at bwin.

Ongame Network currently has several products and gaming environments based on P5 technology in production. Interested parties will be able to a get a first glimpse of P5’s potential at the company’s stand at EiG in Barcelona (Stand No. 320) from September 23–25.

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. The company provides Windows, Java and mobile poker to global partners who differentiate their own brands, technologies and promotional strategies. The network consists of 25 operators, and more than 35,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times during the day. This makes Ongame Network one of the world’s largest poker networks, offering both operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a subsidiary of bwin, the world’s leading provider of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

For more information please contact:

Kevin O’Neal, Press Officer
bwin Interactive Entertainment AG
Börsegasse 11, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel.: +43 (0)50 858-24010
E-mail: press@bwin.com
www.bwin.com

Ongame Network expands into new market

Gibraltar, September 18, 2008 – Ongame Network Ltd, a member of the bwin Group and a leading provider of online gaming entertainment, has announced its move into the Irish market through a partner agreement with Bruce Betting Ltd. The renowned Irish bookmaking house Bruce Betting is the fastest-growing independent bookmaker in Ireland with over 60 betting shops nationwide.

The new licensing agreement is in line with Ongame Network’s long-term strategic goals of targeting new markets through deals with established brands and reiterates the company’s position as one of the world’s leading providers of online gaming entertainment.

“We know what to look for in a new licensee in order to maintain financial growth and stable player equity within our network and Bruce Betting is a company that matches these criteria very well. We are delighted to bring them aboard and are looking forward to delivering an unrivalled online poker experience to their customers.” says Press Officer Kevin O’Neal.

Bruce Betting Poker Manager Paul Smallwood:

“At BrucePoker.com we are working hard to deliver the ultimate poker experience to our customers and with Ongame Network, one of the best known and trusted platforms available, we feel that BrucePoker.com will be recognised as the site to play on for the exciting and challenging experience that today’s online poker players want.”

The new site, BrucePoker.com is fully integrated with the vibrant and innovative Ongame Network aggregated poker network and available to players at www.brucepoker.com.

Fore more information, please contact our press officer Kevin O’Neal.
Phone: +43 (0)50 858 24010
Email: Kevin.ONeal@bwin.org

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. The company provides Windows, Java and mobile poker to global partners who differentiate their own brands, technologies and promotional strategies. The network consists of 25 operators, and more than 35,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times during the day. This makes Ongame Network one of the world’s largest poker networks, offering both operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a division of bwin, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

Ongame Network hosts annual online poker network conference event

This week Ongame Network and over twenty partner sites joined up to form the future of online poker. The annual “Let’s Network” event brings together many of the online gaming industry’s strongest brands and provides a unique forum for online gaming partners and network providers to share ideas, agree on policies and pave the way for an even more exciting poker playing experience inside the Ongame Network. “Let’s Network” is one of several key and yearly initiatives undertaken by Ongame Network to secure that its partners remain initiated, excited and involved in the future on its aggregated poker network.

Ongame Network to speak at the Industry Leaders’ Debate at EiG

Ongame Network is proud to present that the Head of Ongame Network, Martin Lerby, will be one of the speakers at the Industry Leaders’ Debate at EiG in Barcelona. The debate will take place on September 23rd between 14:00-15:00 in Speak Room 117, and hot topics such as current climate, technical developments, platform diversification and market suration will be addressed. :

The debate will be a frank interview-style session, and questions from the floor are more than welcome. Feel free to drop in and hear Ongame Networks’ perspective on the future of the online poker sector and take part in the discussions.

Ongame Network ends partnership with Chan Poker

As of August 21, 2008, Ongame Network and Chan Poker LCC has decided to terminate their partnership without further delay. This termination agreement is due to Chan Pokers’ decision to cease operation and end their business.

Chan Poker states that they sincerely thank the entire Ongame Network for the support, patience and professionalism throughout their venture.

Double or Nothing – a new tournament favorite

Ongame Network is proud to announce a brand new tournament format – Double or Nothing. The tournament was recently released on the network, and has already made quite an impact by showing good numbers in both participants and liquidity.
These first six days since the release, more than 100,000 players have been trying to double their money in these tournaments, and at peak hours it starts more than 100 new games per hour. These numbers are indeed remarkable, and Double or Nothing has proven to be one of the player’s new-found favorites already.

Double or Nothing is a 10 seats Sit&Go tournament, that is running 24/7 and available in all levels from $2+0.2 to $100+8. All the top five players in each game double their buy-in, meaning that 50% of the players double their money and the other 50% leave empty-handed. This new tournament format therefore provides an exciting new opportunity to earn some fast money in a relatively short time.

The Double or Nothing tournaments are available in the poker client for all partners on Ongame Network and their respective players.

Make sure not to miss it!
Shuffle up and Double up.

Random Number Generator certified by eCogra

The Random Number Generator applied by Ongame Network’s leading online poker software solution has been certified by the e-Commerce and Online Gaming Regulation and Assurance organisation (eCogra). The certification not only indicates that the software shuffle algorithm used by the Random Number Generator (RNG) has been rigorously tested for fairness and randomness, but also that it will keep being monitored. Each certificate lasts for one month upon which a new batch of data must be reviewed and approved for a new monthly certificate to be issued.

Unique tournament concept reaches $1,000,000 mark

Based on the exclusive Heat Format that allows online poker vendors to run tournaments featuring multiple starting days, the very popular monthly Grand Tournament, hosted once a month inside the Ongame Network, will reach the $1,000,000 prize pool mark in May. Due to its unrivalled playability, the Grand Tournament is a long-standing player favourite inside the Ongame Network gaming environment. But it was not until the Heat Format was introduced last September that it truly took off. In less than nine months the guaranteed prize pool has been boosted by 500%.

Having reached the $1,000,000 goal, Ongame Network is now actively looking into creating and delivering other tournament events based on the Heat Format to its over twenty five partners.

Ongame Network to represent at AiG Congress & Expo

This coming week, Ongame Network will be represented at the AiG Congress & Expo in Macau

We will be there during the whole event from February 26-28 at stand 22, and you are welcome to come visit us to discuss potential partnering opportunities within the fast-growing Asian gaming market.

Ongame Network showcased latest version of fully integrated mobile poker solution at ICEi.

Gibraltar – Ongame Network Ltd, a subdivision of the bwin Group and a leading provider of online gaming platforms, showcased the latest version of their online poker mobile software application during the International Casino Exhibition at Earl’s Court in London last week.

The new version is the first ever which truly takes advantage of the accessibility of mobile devices to create a refreshing, encompassing and action-packed mobile poker experience focused on one-on-one play.

“When we first managed to overcome restrictions in display size and processing capacity and successfully ported the state-of-the art graphics of our Windows software into more than forty popular mobile devices, we really felt we achieved something,” says spokesperson Tomer Katz.

“But now we’ve taken it one step further by introducing a new user interface specifically designed for the heads-up market segment for which we believe our portable poker solution is perfectly suited. It’s fast, it’s easy and it only requires a few minutes of game time to enjoy.”

The new graphical interface simplifies the user heads-up experience by putting the player face-to-face with his opponent and removing unnecessary controls and graphical elements.

In the exhibition hall at Earl’s Court visitors could demo the application by playing either against another mobile poker player or, by seamlessly interacting with the companies Windows and Java poker software, against anyone of the more than thirty thousand concurrent players actively engaged in cash games and tournaments inside the Ongame Network gaming environment around the clock.

With more than twenty five of the online gaming industry’s most trusted brands in their partner portfolio, Ongame Network is aiming to bring real money mobile poker to the hands of millions of European players longing to enjoy their favourite game on the fly during 2008.

Heat Poker Tournaments spell success for Ongame Network

Ongame Network Ltd, a subdivision of the bwin Group and a leading provider of online gaming platforms, has seen an increase of over 200% in the Grand Tournament – the online poker network’s flagship event – following the addition of the innovate Heats feature two months ago.

Thanks to its player-friendly and unique two-day structure, the $1,000 buy-in monthly Grand Tournament has been considered one of the most innovative online poker events on the circuit ever since it first emerged back in 2005. But the recent addition of Heats has drastically spurred its popularity. Just over 220 players participated in August while more than 620 players entered the event in October.

Heats offers players a choice of days in which to commence their quest for the Grand Tournament title and, as such, emulates major offline poker tournaments that also split participation fields over several starting days in order to accommodate all contestants.
While space constraints is the predominant reason why heats, or flights, are implemented in offline games, Ongame Network and its more than 25 poker partner sites developed the concept primarily to increase a player’s accessibility and choice.

“The driving force behind the recent increase in contestants is largely due to the added flight on Fridays, which has become immensely popular,” said Tomer Katz, spokesperson of the Ongame Network.

“We are now looking into the possibility of introducing other innovative features that will spice up the event even further.”

Due to the recent increase in players, the Grand Tournament XIX (23-25 November 2007), will include a $500,000 prize pool guarantee. During this tournament, Heats will run on Friday and Saturday with survivors from the two heats meeting for the traditional final on Sunday. Qualifiers are available across all Ongame Network partner sites.

Ongame Network enters into partnership with Mansion.com

Gibraltar, October 10. Ongame Network is pleased to announce the addition of Mansion.com to its partner stock. With its ambitious brand and professional organisation, Mansion.com fits perfectly with the network’s ideal partner profile and the deal will strengthen the poker offering within the network.

“Together with MANSION.com and our twenty six established partner brands, we are poised to move our online poker network to a whole new level,” explains Tomer Katz, spokesperson for Ongame Network.

Mansion Group CEO Guy Gussarsky:

“We chose Ongame Network as one of the most tried and trusted platforms online and for their superior Poker software, but an equally important deal-maker has been their ability to enhance our business rather than consume it.”

The migration of the entire Mansion.com player base to the new Ongame Network poker platform was successfully completed overnight beating all previous capacity and lead time records. Mansion.com has thus already opened up its doors to the fun, vibrant and innovative Ongame Network poker gaming environment.

Ongame Network set to launch Poker Heat Tournaments

Gibraltar, 24 September 2007 – Ongame Network Ltd, a subdivision of the bwin Group and a leading provider of online gaming platforms, has announced the release of Heat Tournaments – a new poker tournament feature adding a new dimension to online poker tournament play.

Customers of any of the over twenty Ongame Network partner sites will now be able to participate in online poker tournaments featuring multiple starting heats, or flights, just as in many major offline poker tournaments.

Each heat in a tournament event is scheduled to start separately from the other heats and will last for a specified period of time. Players still standing at the end of each heat will bring their chip stacks with them and merge with survivors of the other heats and play it out in final set at a later time or even date.

“The benefits of having the option to use heats when setting up tournaments are two-fold,” says Tomer Katz, spokesperson for Ongame Network.

“One, we can now do a better job of tailoring our partners’ tournaments in accordance with the habits, geographical origin and overall scheduling demands of their customers. Secondly, players can participate in tournaments with even bigger fields than before without the drawback of having to dedicate more than a few hours at a time in order to be able to finish them.”

The first opportunity players have to experience the new format will be in the 17th edition of the acclaimed Grand Tournament that will run across the Ongame Network on 28 September to 30September. For the first time ever, poker players will have a choice of starting this $200,000 prize pool tournament either on Friday 28 or on Saturday 29 September.

Other events based on this exciting online poker tournament product will follow later this fall.

Ongame Network to host exclusive Opening Night Party at EiG

Ongame Network is proud to welcome its partners and other authorities within the e-gaming industry to a special venue on the opening night of the annual EiG conference to be held in Barcelona starting October 2.

Opening Night @ the Casino will be an excellent opportunity for existing partners, potential partners, media representatives and other industry insiders to enjoy a classy evening in the fabulous Casino de Barcelona courtesy of the world’s number one poker network.

Invitees will be treated to a seated buffet-and-drinks for two as well as one entry to a special fun-filled poker tournament with exciting prizes to be awarded during the tournament’s final showdown. This showdown will take place inside the Ongame Network EiG booth #320 at 4:00 pm on day two of the EiG!

Dinner will be served from 8:00 pm in Brasserie Casino de Barcelona with the tournament, expected to last about two hours, commencing at 10:00 pm in the official poker room next door.

To apply for an invitation or to attain further details, please contact partner@ongamenetwork.com

You can also visit the Ongame Network booth after the opening ceremony of the EIG where we will distribute a limited number of invitations.

Ongame Network Seals Partner Agreement With Redbet

Stockholm, July 9 – Cementing its strong position on the European e-gaming market, Ongame Network, a subdivision of the bwin Group and a leading provider of online gaming platforms, has disclosed a new agreement with the British gaming house Redbet Ltd.

The Redbet group operates and manages several gaming brands including Redbet, TotalPoker, GoldClubCasino and MingelBingo.

Following the deal, several poker sites within the Redbet sphere will switch to Ongame Network poker software and join one of the world’s largest poker networks.

The first site, NextPoker.com was deployed on Saturday, June 31 and is ready for launch.

“We are delighted to partner up with such an accomplished and long-term player within the e-gaming market,” says Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network.

“NextPoker.com is an exciting brand spearheaded by industry veterans that we are convinced will make the best out of our vast offering of games, tournaments, software features and customization capabilities.”

For further information please contact:
Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network
Phone: +46 8 789 12 40
E-mail: martin.lerby@ongamenetwork.com

Boosted Grand Tournament turns into Short-handed Event.

In line with an increasing demand from the poker playing community, the 15th edition of the hailed $1,000 monthly Grand Tournament will be played out in a short-handed format across the Ongame Network at the end of July.

With a new $200,000 Guarantee but with the same unique stack and blind structure used in the past, the Grand Tournament is now set to become the most exciting regular short-handed online poker tournament available.

Grand Tournament XV Information

Buy-in: $1,000+40
Guarantee: $200,000
Day 1: Saturday, July 28, 6:00 pm GMT – 6 hours of play
Day 2: Saturday, July 29, 6:00 pm GMT
Starting Stack: 10,000 chips
Blind levels: 30 minutes
Players / table: 6

Poker Legend Johnny Chan to Feature on New Ongame Network Partner Site

Chanpoker.com, a new online poker venture affiliated with poker legend and three times world champion Johnny Chan, has signed with Ongame Network – one of the world’s largest online poker networks and a premium supplier of poker and casino software. The Chanpoker.com site is scheduled to launch on 30 March: once it is live, players will be able to greet, meet and face one of poker’s most celebrated superstars represented by a specially customized avatar.

“It’s a great honour for us to have been chosen by Johnny Chan and the team behind Chanpoker.com, and we loved the idea of creating an avatar exclusively for Mr. Chan” enthuses Martin Lerby, head of Ongame Network. “We look forward to seeing him play on chanpoker.com and fulfilling many poker player’s dreams of being able to play against him and possibly even beat him”.

Players will not only be able to play against Johnny Chan, but will even be able to take lessons and tutoring from him at the Chanpoker school of poker. Special live tournaments, freerolls and opportunities to meet the legend face-to-face are just some of the other attractions that will make Chanpoker unique.

“Joining Ongame Network will ensure that Chanpoker’s players will have an enjoyable and consistent experience on one of the most tried, tested and trusted platforms online” concludes Xander Oxman, Chanpoker’s Marketing Director.

For further information please contact:
Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network
Phone: +46 8 789 12 40
E-mail: martin.lerby@ongamenetwork.com

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. The company provides Windows, Java and mobile poker and casino games to global partners who differentiate their own brands, technologies and promotional strategies. The network consists of 25 operators, and more than 30,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times during the day. This makes Ongame Network one of the world’s largest poker networks, offering both operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a division of bwin, a leading provider of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

About bwin:
The bwin Group has over 10 million registered customers (including 7 million “play money” customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licenses in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria and the United Kingdom, the Group has set itself the goal of becoming the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games, soft and skill games, as well as audio and video streams on top sporting events such as the German Bundesliga. The parent company bwin Interactive Entertainment AG has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “BWIN”, Reuters ID code “BWIN.VI”). Further information about the bwin Group can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag.

Established poker site Heypoker.com switches to Ongame Network

Another established poker site on the Scandinavian market, Heypoker.com, has decided to join the Ongame Poker Network. Heypoker.com has been in operation since 2005 and has established themselves as an industry leader in player retention by launching the first ever Scandinavian VIP player shop as well as also sponsoring an all-girls poker team, “Heyhoneys”.

“We chose Ongame Network because we want to offer our customers the best poker tournaments and cash game offering out there. The switch to Ongame Network will also enable us to expand and introduce a wider array of gaming products than before,” says, Björn Lundberg, representative of 360 Online Ltd.

Heypoker.com is a brand under 360 Online Ltd which in turn is a subsidiary of 360bet.com Holding Ltd.

The transition of the Heypoker.com player base is scheduled for March but Ongame Network is already set to handle the increase in player liquidity.

“We are introducing new tables, new tournaments and raising prize pool guarantees virtually every week now,” comments says Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network.

“We are confident that the Heypoker.com players will be more than pleased with their new surroundings.”

$400,000 in Weekly Guaranteed Tournament Prize Money Added!

After a significant re-structuring of our entire poker tournament offering, we are pleased to announce a significant boost in our poker tournament prize pool guarantees.

Throughout March more than $400,000 in weekly guaranteed prize money will be added to the $1,000,000 total already guaranteed on a weekly basis.

Here are some of the changes made to existing tournaments:

The new Grand Tournament guarantee is expected to rise dramatically in the month to come thanks to a new fully flexible qualifying system that was recently introduced across all Ongame Network partner sites.

Here is a selection of some of the new Guarantee fixtures premiering in March:

To play in any of these tournaments, sign-up with one of our poker site partners. A list of our current operators can be found here.

Ongame Network strengthens presence in Denmark through deal with Scandic Bookmakers

Ongame Network today announced the addition of Scandic Bookmakers to their poker network. The Danish sportsbook, which previously offered poker games through the Tain Network, has already migrated its player base, and went live on the Ongame Network on 29 January this year

According to Claus Rasmussen, Director of Scandic Bookmakers, the company is more than pleased to join a poker network with particularly good player liquidity, a strong EU presence, and a diverse poker platform. “By switching to Ongame Network, we can now offer our customers a world class poker product,” he explains. “Both Scandic Bookmakers and Ongame Network have high expectations of each other, but the true winners in this switch are undoubtedly our many loyal customers.”

As a member of Ongame Network, Scandic Bookmakers will offer players the entire range of Ongame Network cash games, as well as access to unique tournament formats and over $ 800,000 per week in guaranteed prize pools to Windows, MAC and Linux users.

“We are delighted to welcome Scandic Bookmakers to our network,” enthuses Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network. “This deal will fuel our European player liquidity even further, whilst at the same time reinforcing our presence in Denmark.”

Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network:

For further information please contact:
Martin Lerby, Sales Director Ongame
Tel: +46 8 789 12 40
E-mail: martin.lerby@ongamenetwork.com

About Ongame Network:

Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. They provide Windows, Java and Mobile poker and casino games to global partners who each differentiate their brand, technology and promotional strategies. The network consists of 25 operators, and more than 20,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times every day. This makes Ongame Network the largest poker network in the world, offering operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a division of bwin, one of the world’s leading providers of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com

About bwin:

The bwin Group has over 10 million registered customers (including 7 million “play money” customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licences in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria and the United Kingdom, the Group has set itself the goal of becoming the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games, soft and skill games, as well as audio and video streams on major sporting events like, for example, the German Bundesliga. The parent company, bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “BWIN”, Reuters ID code “BWIN.VI”). All details about the company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag

BestPoker switches to Ongame Network

Ongame Network, one of the largest poker networks in the world, today announced the addition of BestPoker (www.bestpoker.com) to its global poker network. BestPoker have chosen to leave their existing poker network and will from the 15th of December use Ongame Network’s poker software, enabling its customers to play poker in the largest poker network in the world.

“We chose Ongame Network due to their technologically superior software, large number of players and the fact that they also offer a Java version which enables our customers to play directly from the website without having to download any software. In addition, Ongame Network allows us to customize our interface to a great extent.” said Henrik Persson, CEO BestPoker.

BestPoker is one of the fastest growing poker rooms in Europe with a stronghold in the competitive Scandinavian market. BestPoker will be the first site within the Ongame Network to launch a VIP Shop.

“We are delighted to welcome BestPoker to the Ongame Network family. BestPoker have within a short period of time managed to become a strong player in the Scandinavian market, and the fact they have chosen us further demonstrates our position as one of the leading poker networks in the world,” said Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network.

For further information please contact:

Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network
Phone: +46 8 789 12 00
Email: martin.lerby@ongamenetwork.com

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. They provide Windows, Java and Mobile poker and casino games to global partners who each differentiate their brand, technology and promotional strategies. The network consists of 25 operators, and more than 20,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times every day. This makes Ongame Network the largest poker network in the world, offering operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a division of bwin, one of the world’s leading providers of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

About bwin:
The bwin Group has over 10 million registered customers (including 7 million “play money” customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licences in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria and the United Kingdom, the Group has set itself the goal of becoming the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games, soft and skill games, as well as audio and video streams on major sporting events like, for example, the German Bundesliga. The parent company, bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “BWIN”, Reuters ID code “BWIN.VI”). All details about the company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag.

Ongame Network grows even stronger with six new operator additions

Ongame Network today announced the addition of six new operators to its global gaming network. The new operators bring the total number of Ongame Network partners to twenty-five and consolidate its position as the leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions.

The six operators come from different markets around the world. They selected Ongame Network for its unparalleled security, stability and its innovative suite of multi-lingual multi-platform gaming products, particularly online and mobile poker.

“Ongame Network is delighted to welcome these companies on board,” commented Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network. “It demonstrates that, in a turbulent market, Ongame Network continues to lead the way in delivering the richest, most reliable gaming experience based on a robust liquidity that is not US-dependent.”

“Tower Gaming chose to partner with Ongame Network because its reputation and size are unrivalled in the industry,” said Philip Pace, Press Officer, Tower Gaming. “As a growing provider of online gaming solutions, the opportunity offered by Ongame Network was a perfect fit for our ambition. Moreover, we found that working with our counterparts at Ongame Network made the partnership a pleasure.”

“As a partner of Ongame Network, Interwetten Poker is proud to be part of one of the largest, most successful gaming networks in the world,” added Ilja Albrecht, Managing Director, Interwetten Malta. “Ongame Network is the perfect partner for quality, services and games. Our Players can enjoy a fantastic playing experience, and players from around the world can play against each other at any time ”

The six operators are:

Canbet – Canbet is a wholly owned subsidiary of global gaming and wagering company International All Sports Limited (IAS). IAS owns and manages various licensed and regulated Racebooks, Sportsbooks, Casinos and Poker Rooms in both the UK and Australia

Interwetten – One of Europe’s largest and most successful poker operators and sports bookmakers with around 140,000 customers in over 90 countries. More than 3,000 bets per week on football, tennis, ice hockey and many other sports

Poker.gr – Pure-play poker site that is offering a Greek language option for its players

Red Kings and Prime Poker – Two new poker portals from the same operator. Red Kings rewards pocket red kings with $50 – whatever the outcome at the table – as well as offering six popular casino games. Prime Poker boasts fast and easy software downloads and big money tournaments

Tower Gaming – An International focused gaming site which offers Online Poker, Blackjack, Craps, Roulette, Video Poker, Slots and many more Internet casino games

Winamax – Winamax.com offers multilingual games, the most successful of which are “Le Jeu de l’Entraineur” (a football management game), Winamax Trader and Winamax F1

As Ongame Network prepares for further ambitious growth in 2007, these new additions to its family of operators reinforce its position as the leading provider of gaming solutions.

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. They provide Windows, Java and Mobile poker and casino games to global partners who each differentiate their brand, technology and promotional strategies. The network consists of 20 operators, and more than 25,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times every day. This makes Ongame Network the largest poker network in the world, offering operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a division of bwin, one of the world’s leading providers of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

About bwin:
The bwin Group has over 10 million registered customers (including 7 million “play money” customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licenses in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria and the United Kingdom, the Group has set itself the goal of becoming the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games and soft games, as well as audio and video streams on top sporting events like, for example, the German Bundesliga. The parent company bwin Interactive Entertainment AG has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “BWIN”, Reuters ID code “BWIN.VI”). Further information about the Company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag.

For further information, please contact:
Matt Campbell, Mantra PR
Tel: +44 20 7907 7828
E-mail: mcampbell@mantra-pr.com

Peter Marcus, Mantra PR
Tel: +44 20 7907 7803
E-mail: pmarcus@mantra-pr.com

Termination of partnership with Futurebet

We would like to inform you that Ongame Network has served a notice of termination with Futurebet. After several discussions with Futurebet during the last year, Ongame Network terminated the agreement with them on October 5, 2006. Ongame Network will support them to facilitate an organized and peaceful transition. This will include helping move players’ accounts and funds to another network.

Ongame Network has strict policies on what we believe is correct and respectful treatment of players. We are committed to the highest standard among our operators and their players. This forces us to sometimes take action toward operators that do not live up to those standards.
Ongame Network works continuously to keep protecting and developing the quality of the network.

If you have any questions in the meanwhile, please contact partner@ongamenetwork.com.

Yours,
Ongame Network

President Geoorge W. Bush signs US SAFE Port Act into law

On September 30, 2006 the US Congress passed the “SAFE Port Act” which also contained certain provisions known as the “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006” that affects the processing of payments between US customers and certain online gaming companies. This legislation was signed into law by President George Bush on October 13, 2006.

More information on this will be posted here shortly.

Latest Ongame Network Poker Classic updates can be found at www.ongameclassic.com/blog.

Ongame Network will continue operation at the highest level and improve our position in the industry. We will continue to keep you updated on all development regarding this issue.

If you have any questions in the meanwhile, please contact partner@ongamenetwork.com.

Yours,
Ongame Network

President Geoorge W. Bush signs US SAFE Port Act into law

On September 30, 2006 the US Congress passed the “SAFE Port Act” which also contained certain provisions known as the “Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006” that affects the processing of payments between US customers and certain online gaming companies. This legislation was signed into law by President George Bush on October 13, 2006.

More information on this will be posted here shortly.

Latest Ongame Network Poker Classic updates can be found at www.ongameclassic.com/blog.

Ongame Network will continue operation at the highest level and improve our position in the industry. We will continue to keep you updated on all development regarding this issue.

If you have any questions in the meanwhile, please contact partner@ongamenetwork.com.

Yours,
Ongame Network

World’s largest online poker tournament in history rescheduled to accomodate more players

In order to give more players a chance to participate in this special event, Ongame Network has rescheduled the Ongame Network Poker Classic (ONPC), a tournament with a record-breaking guaranteed prize pool of $ 5 million and at least $ 1 million for the final winner. Several new poker operators will be joining the network shortly – including bwin Poker – and their players all want the chance to become millionaires.

The ONPC will be a “flight” tournament starting online on 4 November and pausing when 45 players remain. They will then be flown to Barcelona, Spain, for a live final where they will battle each other face to face on the green felt for at least $ 1 million – continuing with the same chip stacks they had when the online tournament paused. The final will take place at the prestigious Casino de Barcelona during the weekend of 2-3 December 2006.

Now with an additional $ 50,000 freeroll, the world’s largest online poker tournament will also have the world’s largest overlay! In addition to the tickets they have to the ONPC final on 4 November, players who qualify by midnight ET on 2 September will also receive tickets to the exclusive $ 50,000 freeroll scheduled for 4.00 p.m. ET on 3 September. This extra value is being offered as goodwill to players who may be inconvenienced by the event’s new dates.

The ONPC will have the largest-ever guaranteed prize for an event starting online. The online event will have a $ 5,000+200 entry fee, but there is also a tiered satellite qualification system where players can now gain entry through numerous scheduled MTT and SnG events. Players can only enter this exclusive event through qualifying rounds held on Ongame Network operators’ websites. Ongame Network´s operators are working together to host this innovative event for all their players. A full list of their websites can be found below.

Poker players who want to participate can progress through qualifiers starting at $ 1 – so the final winner stands to get a one million percent return on his or her initial buy-in. SnG and MTT qualifiers are now running.

To participate in the Ongame Network Poker Classic, players should register an account with one of the network’s operators. Qualifiers are already under way on the following sites:

AmericasCardroom – www.AmericasCardroom.com
Betsson – www.betsson.com
Bet24 – www.Bet24.com
Canbet.com – www.Canbet.com
CaribSports – www.Caribsports.com
Check n Raise Poker.com – www.checknraisepoker.com
Cherry Casino – www.CherryCasino.com
Coral – www.coral.co.uk
Euro Casino – www.CasinoEuro.com
Ecardroom.com – www.eCardRoom.com
EuroPoker.com – www.EuroPoker.com
Eurobet – www.Eurobet.com
FullContactPoker.com – www.FullContactPoker.com
Gaming Corp – www.casino.co.uk
HoldemPoker.com – www.HoldemPoker.com
HollywoodPoker – www.HollywoodPoker.com
Interwetten – www.interwetten.com
PAF – www.PAF.fi
PokerLoco – www.PokerLoco.com
PokerRoom – www.PokerRoom.com

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. Windows, Java and mobile poker and casino games are provided to global partners, who differentiate their own brands, technologies and promotional strategies. The Poker network consists of 20 operators, and over 20,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times every day. This makes Ongame Network the world’s largest poker network, offering operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is part of the bwin group, one of the world’s leading providers of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

About bwin:
The bwin Group has over 10 million registered customers (including 7 million “play money” customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licences in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria and the United Kingdom, the Group has set itself the goal of becoming the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The parent company bwin Interactive Entertainment AG has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “BWIN”, Reuters ID code “BWIN.VI”). Further information about the company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag.

World’s largest online poker tournament in history to open next week

Ongame Network is pleased to announce The Ongame Network Poker Classic, a tournament with a record-breaking guaranteed prize pool of $5 million and at least $1 million for the final winner. This will be the largest-ever guaranteed prize for an event that starts online. It is an exclusive event where the players can ONLY enter through qualifying rounds held on Ongame Network operators’ websites. (A full list of the websites can be found below.)

The Ongame Network Poker Classic will start as an online tournament and then pause when there are 45 players left. Those 45 will then receive airplane tickets to Barcelona, Spain, for the live final to battle it out on the green felt face to face – continuing with the same chip stacks they had when the online tournament paused. The final will take place in the prestigious Casino de Barcelona during the weekend of September 30th – October 1st, 2006.

Ongame Network’s operators are working together to host this innovative event for all their players. It will be a distinctive event that cuts through the clutter of mid-level poker tournaments offered by other individual poker sites.

Ongame Network is investing a significant and unprecedented amount in the event, and the players will see the benefit, because travel and hotel expenses will not be taken from the prize pool or players’ pockets. For the equivalent entry fee of $5000+200, the top 45 players will receive both their tournament buy-in AND a $5000 (approximate value) travel package.

Sit & Go and scheduled tournament-based qualifiers start on Monday, March 27th. Players can proceed through various levels which start at $1 – so the eventual winner could potentially get a one million percent return on their initial buy-in!

To participate in the Ongame Network Poker Classic, players should register an account with one of the Network’s operators. Qualifiers start on March 27th. Patrik Selin, President, Ongame, said: “We are truly excited to be launching this Poker Classic tournament which we believe marks a milestone in the development of online poker. The guaranteed size of the prize pool available makes it an opportunity no true online poker fan can miss – and I’m sure beginners will be tempted to try their luck too.”

Qualifiers can be entered through any Ongame Network operator:

AmericasCardroom – www.AmericasCardroom.com
Bet On Bet – www.betonbet.com
Betsson – www.betsson.com
Bet24 – www.Bet24.com
Canbet.com – www.Canbet.com
CaribSports – www.Caribsports.com
Check n Raise Poker.com – www.checknraisepoker.com
Cherry Casino – www.CherryCasino.com
Coral – www.coral.co.uk
Euro Casino – www.CasinoEuro.com
Ecardroom.com – www.eCardRoom.com
EuroPoker.com – www.EuroPoker.com
Eurobet – www.Eurobet.com
FullContactPoker.com – www.FullContactPoker.com
Gaming Corp – www.casino.co.uk
HoldemPoker.com – www.HoldemPoker.com
HollywoodPoker – www.HollywoodPoker.com
Interwetten – www.interwetten.com
PAF – www.PAF.fi
PokerLoco – www.PokerLoco.com
PokerRoom – www.PokerRoom.com
PowerPlayer – www.PowerPlayer.com

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. They provide Windows, Java and Mobile poker and casino games to global partners who each differentiate their brand, technology and promotional strategies. The network consists of 18 operators, and more than 20,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times every day. This makes Ongame Network the largest poker network in the world, offering operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BETandWIN.com Interactive Entertainment AG. For more information on Ongame Network, please visit www.ongamenetwork.com.

About Betandwin:
BETandWIN.com Interactive Entertainment AG has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “BWIN”, Reuters ID code “BWIN.VI”). Further information about the company can be found on its investor relations website at www.betandwin.ag.

Bet24 Joins Ongame Network

Ongame Network today announced the addition of www.Bet24.com to its poker network. Bet24.com will use Ongame Network’s poker software, enabling its customers to play poker against more than 7 million players already connected to Ongame Network.

In moving to Ongame Network, Bet24.com will be able to offer its customers bigger and better online poker tournaments, improved software functionality and greater player liquidity, reflected in fuller poker tables 24×7. Ongame Network’s current partners include PokerRoom.com and Coral Eurobet.

Bet24.com is a sports betting, casino and poker site focusing on the Nordic market and owned by Nordic Betting Ltd., whose majority shareholder is the Swedish media group Modern Times Group AB.

“We are delighted to be able to further expand our poker network,” commented Ongame CEO Patrik Selin. “Our aim is to create Europe´s largest online poker community.”

“We are looking forward to becoming part of the Ongame Network and to offer our customers high activity around the clock, big tournaments and a lot of other new poker features. Together with a new, fresher site layout we are sure that our co-operation with Ongame will enable us to grow our poker business tremendously” added Holger Kristiansen, CEO of Nordic Betting Ltd.

For further information, please contact:

Patrik Selin, President & CEO Ongame
Tel: +46 8 789 12 00
E-mail: patrik.selin@ongame.com

Martin Lerby, Sales Director Ongame
Tel: +46 8 789 12 40
E-mail: martin.lerby@ongame.com

Ongame Network strengthens presence in Denmark through deal with Scandic Bookmakers

Ongame Network today announced the addition of Scandic Bookmakers to their poker network. The Danish sportsbook, which previously offered poker games through the Tain Network, has already migrated its player base, and went live on the Ongame Network on 29 January this year

According to Claus Rasmussen, Director of Scandic Bookmakers, the company is more than pleased to join a poker network with particularly good player liquidity, a strong EU presence, and a diverse poker platform. “By switching to Ongame Network, we can now offer our customers a world class poker product,” he explains. “Both Scandic Bookmakers and Ongame Network have high expectations of each other, but the true winners in this switch are undoubtedly our many loyal customers.”

As a member of Ongame Network, Scandic Bookmakers will offer players the entire range of Ongame Network cash games, as well as access to unique tournament formats and over $ 800,000 per week in guaranteed prize pools to Windows, MAC and Linux users.

“We are delighted to welcome Scandic Bookmakers to our network,” enthuses Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network. “This deal will fuel our European player liquidity even further, whilst at the same time reinforcing our presence in Denmark.”

Martin Lerby, Head of Ongame Network:

For further information please contact:
Martin Lerby, Sales Director Ongame
Tel: +46 8 789 12 40
E-mail: martin.lerby@ongamenetwork.com

About Ongame Network:
Ongame Network is a leading provider of business-to-business online and mobile gaming solutions, with a focus on poker. They provide Windows, Java and Mobile poker and casino games to global partners who each differentiate their brand, technology and promotional strategies. The network consists of 25 operators, and more than 20,000 players can be found playing concurrently at peak times every day. This makes Ongame Network the largest poker network in the world, offering operators and their players a wide variety of exciting ring games and tournaments to choose from every hour of every day. Ongame Network is a division of bwin, one of the world’s leading providers of online gaming entertainment. Further information about Ongame Network can be found on the Internet at www.ongamenetwork.com.

About bwin:
The bwin Group has over 10 million registered customers (including 7 million “play money” customers) in over 20 core target markets. Operating under international and regional licences in countries like Gibraltar, Kahnawake (Canada), Belize and Germany, Italy, Mexico, Austria and the United Kingdom, the Group has set itself the goal of becoming the number one address for sports betting, games and entertainment via digital distribution channels. The Group offers sports betting, poker, casino games, soft and skill games, as well as audio and video streams on major sporting events like, for example, the German Bundesliga. The parent company, bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since March 2000 (ID code “BWIN”, Reuters ID code “BWIN.VI”). All details about the company can be found on its investor relations website at www.bwin.ag.

Ongame Network annonces partnership with Coral Eurobet

Ongame, the world’s third-largest online poker company, today announces that Coral Eurobet’s two poker websites – Coralpoker.com and Eurobetpoker.com – are joining its poker network. The sites will now run Ongame’s software and share their customer base with the more than dozen other affiliate members on Ongame Network. Ongame has won Coral Eurobet’s business from PartyGaming.

By moving to Ongame Network, Coral Eurobet will be able to offer its customers bigger and better tournaments, improved poker software functionality and greater player liquidity. In particular, players will enjoy:
* More players to challenge at all levels of play
* Higher table limits (up to $1,000)
* $600 first deposit bonus
* Daily freeroll
* More varieties of poker  - Texas Hold’em, Omaha, 5-card draw, 7-card stud
* Availability of download and non-download games
* Mac and Linux-compatible games

Coral Eurobet operates two online poker brands: Coralpoker.com, which focuses on the UK market, and Eurobetpoker.com, which operates in Europe and the rest of the world. These sites have a highly active customer base of several hundred thousand registered members and they will join the 6m already registered on the Ongame Network.

Mats Johnson, Director of Coral Eurobet, said: “We chose to move to Ongame because we feel their network benefits both our customers and Coral Eurobet as a company. The move to Ongame powerfully boosts our future growth prospects, and provides our customers with a much better all-round playing experience.” Patrik Selin, CEO of Ongame, said: “Coral Eurobet’s decision to join Ongame Network confirms our position as the most attractive network for partner members and their customers. Our technology is significantly more advanced and more userfriendly than our competitors’, and the size of our customer base means we can offer the best tournaments. We look forward to a long working relationship with Coral Eurobet.”

About Ongame:
Founded in Sweden, Ongame is a leading online poker focused entertainment company. Ongame operates its own brands, including PokerRoom.com, the world’s number three ranked poker website, and eCardroom.cn, the first Chinese language poker website, and runs a poker network, providing poker technology for third parties. The first company to make real money multiplayer poker available on mobile phones, Ongame is widely acknowledged as having the most advanced technology in the industry. In 2004, Ongame was named as Sweden’s “IT Company of the Year”.

For more information on Ongame please visit www.ongame.com

PRESS INFORMATION

Ongame (Mantra):
+44 (0)20 7907 7815 / +44 (0)7736 067 190
Nick Bishop, nbishop@mantra-pr.com
+44 (0)20 7907 7803 / +44 (0)7916 121 651
Peter Marcus, pmarcus@mantra-pr.com

About Coral Eurobet:
Coral Eurobet, based in the UK and in Gibraltar, is one of the world’s leading gaming and fixed-odds bookmaking businesses, providing up-to-the minute sports betting and gaming products throughout the world including its online Poker, online Arcade games and online Casinos. In addition to its online business, it operates over 1260 licensed betting offices in the UK, a significant telephone betting business and two leading UK greyhound stadia. Gala, the gaming group, acquired Coral Eurobet Ltd in October 2005. The deal creates Europe’s pre-eminent integrated betting and gaming company with strong market positions in licensed betting offices, bingo and casinos, and a high quality multimedia offer. The enlarged company has an enterprise value of more than €4.4bn. It trades from 1,450 outlets, employs a total workforce of 17,000 and has 8 million registered customers and more than 2.2 million active customers.

The group is the UK’s third-largest bookmaker with 1,267 licensed betting offices, the UK’s largest bingo operator with 167 clubs and a leading operator of casinos with 30 outlets. Coral Eurobet’s established online business, matched with Gala’s web based products, will also make Gala a significant online gaming operator with strong prospects for further growth.

Ongame Network signs agreement with Check n Raise Poker

Ongame Network, the world’s third-largest online poker network, has signed an agreement allowing Check n Raise Poker to join its poker network. The deal between Funtime Hospitality Corp – owner of Check n Raise Poker – and Ongame Network will enable Check n Raise Poker to continue its fast growth in the online poker market.

Under the terms of the agreement Ongame Network will provide Check n Raise with a full-service solution including customer support and payments processing, together with a fully customized multiplayer poker application integrated into one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing poker networks. The agreement will enable Check n Raise to offer its rapidly growing customer base a wide choice of different poker games with plenty of action 24/7.

Patrik Selin, CEO of Ongame, commented: “Check n Raise has extensive experience in poker room management and marketing and we are delighted to have them as our customers. Together we will be able to attract new players to the network.”

“We are very excited about moving to the Ongame Network,” says Bill Kertes, CEO of Check n Raise Poker. “We feel that a solid, reliable software platform will allow us to do what we do great – that is, create compelling player promotions! Poker players everywhere will find many reasons to play on Check n Raise Poker’s site, as we will take great care of them by rewarding their play.”

Check n Raise Poker is a leader in the online gaming industry, possessing an unmatched depth of experience in both online and traditional card rooms.

Ongame Network consists of an exclusive group of premium poker partners, including PokerRoom.com, that drive customers into a shared pool of poker players. Each partner retains ownership of its own player database and continues to earn commission for the lifetime of the player as they compete across the network of nearly 6 million worldwide poker players.

Notes to Editors:
Ongame Poker Network, a B2B subsidiary of Ongame, is the world’s third largest online poker network. The objective of Ongame Network is to use its already established base of about 6,000,000 players and license Java and Windows based poker software to high-end casino and sportsbook sites. Ongame Network is unique in that it offers multiplayer poker for mobile phones as well as Java-based no-download-required poker software and downloadable clients for Windows. Currently the world’s third-largest poker site PokerRoom.com – also a subsidiary of Ongame – is the dominating operator within the network.

For further information contact:
Pete Marcus
Mantra PR
+44 (0)207 907 7803
pmarcus@mantra-pr.com