Federated Sports & Gaming, Inc. is about to make a big bet in the poker industry. The start-up company promotes poker-related businesses and is expected to announce a deal with the newly founded Epic Poker League. Though many have reacted with doom and gloom to Black Friday, Federated Sports believes there is plenty of money to be made in televising poker. The Epic Poker League will air on CBS and Velocity, a sub-division of Discovery Communications, Inc.
The poker league will pay CBS to air the tournaments on weekends as a “time buy.” Velocity will run the show free of charge, as a cross-promotional change between itself and the Epic Poker League. Velocity’s senior vice president Bob Scanlon commented that Epic “is a natural fit for Velocity and the upscale male audience that we’re courting.”
The majority of poker shows have engaged in a “time buy” with the airing network. Until Black Friday, Full Tilt Poker and PokerStars regularly paid broadcasters to feature shows sponsored by their brands. Since these two have been forced out of the American market most poker shows have become unbranded or canceled. While Full Tilt and PokerStars are embroiled in legal battles, the market has plenty of room for newcomers.
Federated Sports was founded in 2010 and is based in Los Angeles. Venture capitalist J.B. Britzker is an investor in the company. Federated Sports’ chief executive Jeffrey Pollack wouldn’t comment on the specific terms of the broadcasting deal with crypto gambling or Velocity. He said Federated believes that there is an untapped market of consumer goods and brands who would greatly benefit from advertising to the poker demographic. Where it will go remains to be seen. The broadcast dates for Epic Poker League will be released later this summer.
Amid rumors of their impending purchase by mysterious European buyers, Full Tilt Poker’s public hearing over their suspended license may soon become a private affair. Held in the city of London, the hearing has already been postponed until the middle of September.
Here’s what lead Full Tilt lawyer Michael Heslop had to say on the matter, as reported by eGaming Review Magazine:
“It is not in the interest of justice that this should be aired in public. There is a real risk that it may be detrimental to these interests and highly prejudicial to this decision.”
Part of the cmpany’s reasoning here may lie in the supposedly looming purchase. If the hearing were to remain public, information on the potential buyers would leak out into the open market. This could affect the ability of the two parties to strike their monumental deal. The most closely watched bit of news would likely be the pending repayment of player accounts. Currently, Full Tilt owes approximately $10 million in cashouts, stemming from the notorious Black Friday lockouts.
As previously stated, the purpose of this UK-based hearing is to determine whether or not Full Tilt breached the terms of their agreement with the Alderney Gambling Control Council. The AGCC, who suspended the company’s license in June, doesn’t feel that a closed hearing is in their best interest.
“The purpose of the hearing,” read the group’s statement earlier this month, “will be to make public evidence from both AGCC and Full Tilt regarding the suspension of Full Tilt’s license and to adjudicate the findings transparently.”
Currently, the AGCC is seeking repayment for licensing fees which, they claim, Full Tilt failed to send in. According to CardPlayer.com, these fees amount to a whopping £250,000.
