Poker Rooms Expand Sponsorships and Profits in Sports Partnerships

Poker rooms are increasingly sponsoring sports teams, with notable growth in profits and market expansion. LBapuestas is sponsoring both the RCD Espanyol and Valencia C.F. football teams. Other teams like Real Betis are also featuring logos from online gaming houses such as Cirsa.

In the basketball arena, PokerStars sponsored the pre-Olympic tour of the Spanish basketball team and has Rafa Nadal as its ambassador. 888poker's profits increased by 59% in the second quarter, largely due to its success in Spain. The company has also partnered with a software provider to enter the U.S. market upon legalization.

Zynga plans to enter the real-money online gaming market by the first half of 2013, including games like poker and slot machines. This move is expected to significantly impact the online gaming industry.