PartyGaming, the operators of Party Poker, announced yesterday that they were no longer prepared to share their online poker tables with skins like Empire Poker. The decision left the share price of Empire Online in tatters, as stock fell to 121p, losing 25% of its value and falling below its list price. It was only weeks ago that the share was gaining rapidly on the back of an unfounded rumor that the company was the subject of a takeover bid by Sportingbet.
All the online poker stocks suffered in heavy trading as Empire Online made the surprising announcement that their new player growth was flat for the last three month period ending in September. PartyGaming's decision to distance the Party Poker brand and software from marketing skins such as Empire Poker dealt the latter a huge blow, and it will be interesting to see if they can recover from it.
