Using a partnership with St. Minver Ltd.

Apr 30, 2007 19:06 GMT  ·  By

Yahoo prepares to launch an exciting project that will attract the poker fans from all over the world: a poker room that will enable clients to play the game using real money. The company recently signed a deal with St. Minver Ltd. that will help the giant portal design the gaming solution. According to Online Casino News, the website will be hosted by the International Poker Network, being based on the European segment of users. This is the first time when a Yahoo product is especially designed for other clients than the US residents, as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act prohibits the money transfer from online casinos.

"US residents are not currently accepted as a result of the introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, which makes it illegal for banking facilities to accept money transfers to and from online gambling sites," the same publication reported.

However, Yahoo will be the first giant that will offer real poker games, although some of the rivals are currently providing virtual casinos. The best example is AOL, a website that designed several games for its users, one of the most accessed being surely the poker. "Yahoo! will become the only Internet Service Provider to offer play for real money although competitors like AOL operate a 'play money' site," Online Casino News added.

At this time, the giant portal Yahoo owns one of the most famous communities of users because numerous Internet users are connecting to its website to play interactive games like Pool, Backgammon or even Chess. All the games are available for free but they will display an advert just before the user connects to a game room. I guess this is a huge industry as the Internet tends to replace all the common offline activities, so maybe the upcoming poker room will hit the market.