In May of 2011 the Entraction Poker Network was sold to International Game Technology (IGT) for a little over $100,000,000. Soon after the completion of the deal the network was re-branded as the IGT Poker Network. Since the network was re-branded it started to flutter as the network decided to lock out certain countries. That is when the flood gates opened and big network partners jumped ship and as a result over the last year the network saw a decrease of over 50% in player liquidity. It started to become an uphill battle to regain traction within the regulated markets.
IGame Malta who operates 24hPoker & Pokerihuone was one of the bigger brands on the IGT Poker Network & they jumped ship to join MPN. Some other notable defectors were BetVictor, Betsson & Redbet.
In September IGT released a statement stating the network would close by the end of the year to give the last remaining operators on the network time to move to a new network. IGT stated “change and uncertainty in European market conditions (diminishing) the expected returns in certain real money wagering products”. On December 11th the network officially shut down with the gaming servers being taken offline.
During the first half of 2012 IGT worked diligently to secure a poker license in the State of Nevada to act as a technology partner. Many industry observers saw this as a positive move as it would seem the network software would stay intact and instead be licensed to prospective operators within the regulated online gambling market.
