Fresh off their Disney acquisition, Playdom has announced a partnership with Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment to bring the Official World Series of Poker game to Facebook and other social networks.
“We are very excited to bring the thrill and excitement of the World Series of Poker to the social gaming space with Playdom,” says WSOP VP Craig Abrahams. “We will immediately start to work on enhancing the game, bringing unique WSOP promotions and sweepstakes into the offering and ensuring that the battle for WSOP virtual championship bracelets can become a Facebook-friendly endeavor.”
“There is only one brand in poker that stands out and that is the World Series of Poker,” said Sean Phinney, VP of Business Development for Playdom. “We think big brands will win on social networks and we are excited to start working together to create a unique and fun social gaming experience.”
Obviously, a deal like this was in the works before the Disney acquisition (the press release refers to Playdom being “privately held”), but Uncle Walt now having a link to online gambling could prove to be interesting down the road. Perhaps we’ll even find Epic Mickey at the craps table?
At it’s core, the World Series of Poker gma is nothing more than a rebranded version of Playdom’s own Poker Palace, but now with the official Harrah’s stamp of approval. Currently, Poker Palace boasts around half a million monthly users, with an average of 60,000 active daily users. Moving forward, Playdom will update the title with input from Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment branch. Future developments include a variety of various poker-based offerings including single table and tournaments with both full-table and short- handed play. Players will pony up with what Harrah’s is dubbing “play money” (expect this to change soon).
All in all, Playdom/Disney’s investment in online poker might be arriving at just the right time, as the NYTimes recently reported that the House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that (more or less) legalizes online poked and other non-sports related betting, effectively overturning a 2006 ban.
