Four companies ink Internet poker deals

Ongame Network Ltd. and Shuffle Master Inc. have reached agreements to make Ongame's Internet poker system available through systems operated by Las Vegas slot machine makers Bally Technologies Inc. and Aristocrat Technologies Inc.

Casino supplier Shuffle Master, also based in Las Vegas, in March announced plans to buy Ongame Network from Internet gambling company bwin.party Services (Austria) GmbH. Shuffle Master is paying about $25.7 million and potentially another $13.2 million depending on when and if Internet poker is legalized in the United States.

Ongame is a business-to-business (B2B) poker provider. Its customers are websites offering poker.

The terms of the deals announced Tuesday with Bally and Aristocrat were not disclosed. The deals allow Bally and Aristocrat to offer the Ongame Network poker platform to customers, along with competing platforms.

In announcements Tuesday, Shuffle Master said its alliances with Bally and Ongame and with Aristocrat and Ongame, will enable the "companies to take their combined strengths and offer a unique poker and iGaming platform solution.''

Share