The online poker gold rush continues to gather momentum and the operators of poker sites such as Poker Stars and Full Tilt Poker are once again the subject of IPO rumors from London. If Poker Stars goes public the company is expected to be able to raise a staggering $3 billion, while Full Tilt has emerged as the biggest and most viable new online poker room.
Poker Stars is privately owned by an Israeli family (75% belongs to them) with the balance of the company owned by the employees of the second biggest online poker room in the world. There have been persistent rumors that Poker Stars will go public, but perhaps they are waiting for the results of the latest sad attempt by US congressmen to ban online poker, while simultaneously protecting other forms of online gambling.
It is estimated that Poker Stars now generates an annual profit in excess of $200 million. The online poker industry is now worth over $10 billion, and is clearly not going anywhere but up for the forseeable future.
Full Tilt Poker is enjoying tremendous exposure thanks to their many famous endorsers, and there have been several reports of talks between Full Tilt and various investment banks regarding the possibility of a public offering.
