Silent auction next month may eclipse $10M…with one domain.
Moniker’s live domain name auctions have been the talk of the domain name industry over the past year. The company, in conjunction with TRAFFIC and other conferences, has sold big ticket domains including Cameras.com for $1.5M and Families.com for $650,000.
But all past sales might be dwarfed by Moniker’s next auction in conjunction with the Casino Affiliate Convention in Amsterdam May 3-5. The irony is that this auction is a silent auction, not a live auction. You’d think a silent auction would not bring in big sales …until you saw the list. One domain — Poker.com — may sell for more than any entire auction that Moniker has held in the past. The reserve for Poker.com is over $5M, and I suspect it is actually an 8 figure reserve. Poker.com may well be the most expensive reported domain name sale ever. Other key domains include Slots.com and ePoker.com.
The online gambling industry has seen its ups and downs over the past year. The biggest market for internet gambling is the United States, but congress passed a law last year effectively shutting down U.S. gaming. The law, known as Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, held banks accountable for facilitating online gambling transactions. This had a chilling effect on gambling firms, with many public firms losing much of their value and gambling site leaders being hauled off to jail when they set foot in the United States. This had a chilling effect on gambling-related domain prices.
But the fortunes of online gambling companies may be changing. First, the World Trade Organization ruled that the U.S.’s ban on online gambling created unfair competition. Then, U.S. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank introduced a bill this week that would allow online gambling but require registrations and precautions.
Will the WTO and Frank’s actions be enough to reverse the fortunes of internet gambling companies? Two years ago Poker.com would have easily sold for over $10M to a gambling company flush with cash. But after a year of turmoil we’ll just have to wait to see.
online says
Worst part of the US me thinks.
Gambling should be legal.
I suppose it’s kind of a stupidity tax of sorts though.