Merge Poker in Loyalty Club Agreement with Initial Rewards

March 3, 2009 (InfoPowa News) — Loyalty rewards specialist firm Initial Rewards Limited has signed a three-year deal with online poker network group Merge Gaming to provide loyalty platforms and support across all of the latter's licenced brands.
 
Initial director Lee Reuben said: “Through this deal with Merge Gaming, Initial Rewards re-affirms its leading position within the loyalty industry for online gambling operators. Our relationships with Playtech, MicroGaming, CryptoLogic and now Merge Gaming deliver loyalty rewards to thousands of customers each month.”
 
Merge Gaming has more than eighteen brands hosting poker rooms using Merge back-end software and administration tools, including Carbon Poker and PDC Poker. The company is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing networks in the online gaming industry, offering clients a flexible, customizable package to set up an operation.
 
"We searched high and wide looking for a loyalty store provider, [but] in the end the choice was simple," said Merge marketing director Ian Williams. "Initial are the best in the business and have been for a long time. Merge Gaming is a highly innovative company and some of our licensees will be doing some exciting projects with the store."
 
The then Initial Poker company was founded in 2007 by brand loyalty experts Lee and Jon Reuben, and their CRM experience in the remote gambling industry is recognized by clients such as Paradise Poker and Betfair. In Q4 2008, Initial Rewards dealt with more than 10,000 customers redeeming various products from loyalty points earned.
 
Initial has also announced that industry veteran Hilly Ehrlich is to join its board of directors, and will have the management responsibility for a new office in Tel Aviv, Israel. Ehrlich was formerly head of poker networks at PartyPoker, and before that he was vice president of Internet marketing at World Poker Tour.