Penthouse is teaming up with two partners, one a veteran gaming industry leader, to create a new gaming Web site combining sports and gambling with the magazine's renowned racy online content.
Business Wire says Penthouse, former Players International chairman Ed Fishman, and Australian tech firm Gaming & Entertainment Technology to create penthousecasino.com, planned as a real time gaming and wagering casino accommodating thousands of players at once. Fishman has begun the licensing process in Australia for the site, Business Wire says.
Penthouse publisher Bob Guccione tells the news wire his company will mount a "vigorous" marketing campaign for penthousecasino.com, aimed at the estimated 25 million who now gamble online. That number is projected to hit 300 million in five years.
Most countries allow online gambling, with the United States the most notable holdout. In the U.S., penthousecasino.com will offer play for fun but no payoffs in cash, Business Wire says. Australia is the only country in the world which now regulates online gambling.
The new site will be previewed Jan. 26-27, with a full rollout expected this spring.
"Given the brand name quality and worldwide marketing power of Penthouse, the absolute credibility of a license from Australian authorities, the proven track record of Ed Fishman, and the quality of the technology developed by GET, we have solved the biggest question a gambler has - is it safe and honest?" Guccione tells Business Wire.
The casino site will offer services such as a sports book, handicapping, fantasy league tournaments and a variety of other betting from all over the world, the news wire continues, and when gamblers want a break from the games, the site will be integrated "fully" with Penthouse's flagship Web site (www.penthouse.com).
Fishman says this could become the world's largest online casino. "(C)onsider the power of the Penthouse marketing expertise and the fact that more people in most countries throughout the world can play with us simultaneously, at any hour of the day or night, than at any other online casino anywhere," he tells Business Wire.
World Net casino revenues were said to have been $1.2 billion last year, according to Bear Stearns, and could hit over $3 billion within two years.
