Interwetten Pulls Out of Online Poker

In an effort to concentrate its focus on offering a more attractive range of sports betting, casino and skill games products, Austria's Interwetten has pulled out of the online poker market, delivering its last hand of poker yesterday morning.

In a short statement posted on its site Tuesday, Interwetten said that any players still in possession of poker chips would receive the equivalent value in real money as a credit in their account by midnight Thursday. The company's poker offering had been part of the Ongame network.

The company said that following the closure it would now focus efforts on offering customers an even more attractive range of sports betting, casino and skill games.

Interwetten has already began the process of increasing its brand exposure in Europe, signing a deal last week to become the main sponsor of the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team, providing the company with a presence on the starting grid for the 2010 MotoGP racing calendar, the premier class of grand prix motorcycle racing.

The company said that the agreement would increase its brand exposure in markets popular with the MotoGP such as Spain, Greece, Germany and Switzerland.