The internet gaming sphere is banking on innovative IT to guarantee its success

A dot com company boom out of a different sort is under way in the online gaming sphere. This summertime has seen the arrival of several new companies on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), as online gaming, and poker in particular, has taken centre stage.
The biggest business firm in the marketplace, Partygaming, enrolled in June on a valuation of £4.6bn – the biggest UK stock exchange first appearance in five years. Though its share price has dropped since the initial flotation, the fellowship final stage month connected the FTSE 100 with a valuation higher than British Airways and Dixons. The next big list in the sector came from 888.com, which drifted in September with a valuation of £590m. 

Almost recently OnGame, a Swedish company that engages a range of international online gaming brand name*, has pointed that it plans to list on the LSE next year. 888.com’s Pacific Poker (see box below). The most common thread through all these firms is their trust on IT. Online betting business firm Betfair causes already invested with £30m in technology to try to ensure its betting platform is the fastest and most resilient in the industry, and is planning a further £20m investment this year (Computing, 21 April).
‘Technology is the groundwork of Betfair’s success and its application in the betting exchange format causes, in a relatively short period of time, revolutionised the way many folks bet,’ said Stephen Hill, Betfair’s chief executive.

OnGame is similarly dependent on technology: it employs about 220 staff, of which 160 are developers. Different than many others in this market, the company comes its revenues not only from online gaming, but also from distributing its technology as a platform for extra brands to use. David Flynn, chief technology officer of OnGame, says his firm offers software to about 15 other companies. He believes that after the growth the industry has been experiencing, the market will seek to consolidate until just three or four players rest. This is one of the primary reasons for the recent spate of stock exchange listings seen these year, says Flynn. ‘We’re looking to list on the LSE next year to produce funds to Purchase other companies,’ he stated.