Now it's Yahoo! poker on the cards

Now it's Yahoo! poker on the cards Search engine giant Yahoo! has started development for a real-money poker site, which it hopes to launch on its UK and Ireland portals before the end of the year. It has already announced plans for a joint venture betting exchange with Betfair, and it is believed the firm is eager to exploit the rapidly expanding egaming market in the UK. Yahoo! has been in discussion with several poker software firms over sub-licensing software, but it is believed to be keen to develop the poker room in-house. The firm currently offers play-for-fun poker as part of its skill gaming channel, but this would be its first move into real-money poker. And with a 40% market share of internet traffic in the UK it could be a powerful competitor to existing poker rooms. Yahoo’s UK office is keen to press ahead with the poker room, but the final decision rests with Yahoo’s board in the US, which is still thought to be reluctant to be to heavily linked to the gambling industry. It is also worried about jeopardising its position as a leader in the skill gaming market, which is legal in most US states. Yahoo is already one of the most popular gaming destinations on the internet, thanks to deals with skill gaming firms Midas Player and Worldwinner.