Harrah's Officially Enters Online Casino World With WSOP Brand
After months of speculation and rumors among gaming industry insiders, Harrah's Entertainment made it official by announcing Friday it had created an online gambling division, Harrah's Interactive Entertainment. The new branch will be run by Mitch Garber, the former head of PartyGaming whose hiring last month led to expectations Harrah's was preparing to invade the Internet.
"As the world's largest gaming company, Harrah's is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion," Harrah's CEO Gary Loveman said in a statement.
While many land-based casino operators have opposed regulating online gambling in the US as a means of avoiding competition, Harrah's recently changed its stance. Internet gambling requires far less capital investment than new resorts from overextended companies, and Harrah's has the powerful World Series of Poker brand to wield.
Harrah's also noted the division would investigate opportunities in online casino development, beginning in Europe. By bringing its gaming to the Internet at this time, Harrah's is readying itself for a potential entry into the US online gambling market, pending passage of the Frank bill repealing the UIGEA.
"It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands," said Loveman.
