- A look back at Winamax’s huge 2020, which included major new products, promotions and deals.
Winamax’s First Series of 2020 is its Biggest Ever (January 2020)
Top line: “French online poker operator Winamax is currently running its biggest ever online tournament series.”
Key takeaways:
- The twenty-sixth edition of Winamax Series guarantees €15 million in prize money spread over a total of 172 tournaments.
- This makes it the largest Winamax Series both in terms of total guarantees and the number of tournaments.
- The operator has bumped up the guarantee of the €125 buy-in Main Event to a historic high of €3 million.
Winamax Enters Global Top Three as it Pulls Ahead in Southern European Market (January 2020)
Top line: “In the face of increased competition, and despite an uneven playing field, French-based online poker room Winamax is currently ranked third globally in terms of cash game traffic, the latest figures reveal.”
Key takeaways:
- It has solidified its position as the clear leader in the segregated Southern European online poker market, despite still not operating in Portugal.
- Globally, it is neck-and-neck with growing online poker network GGPoker for the coveted third-place position in the rankings.
- Over the last two years, cash game traffic has grown 30% whilst both PokerStars Europe and the dot-com market have declined.
- Today, it represents 43% of the Southern European market, up from 40% a year ago and 28% in Q1 2018.
Winamax to Debut Bounty Online Tournament Series, KO Battles (February 2020)
Top line: “Winamax will be running a knockout-exclusive online tournament series, KO Battles, in the segregated Southern European market serving French and Spanish players.”
Key takeaways:
- Winamax will be running its first-ever Knockout-exclusive tournament series,
- Buy-ins to the KO Battles will be between €10 to €100.
- KO Battles starts just after PokerStars’ Carnival Series wraps up in the same market on March 1.
Winamax “Stream Gang” Expands with Spanish Streaming Stable (March 2020)
Top line: “Winamax, current market leader for cash game traffic in the regulated Southern European market, has announced the launch of Winamax Stream Gang (WSG) in Spain.”
Key takeaways:
- The announcement comes four months after the first incarnation of the WSG that comprises ten French streamers.
- The French WSG launched in November 2019.
- The Spanish WSG will stream a variety of game types including action on MTT tables, cash games and Expresso.
PokerStars SCOOP and Winamax Series Scheduled in European Segregated Markets (March 2020)
Top line: “In Southern Europe, the two leading operators PokerStars and Winamax have announced online tournament series kicking off over the next couple of weeks and running through April.”
Key takeaways:
- PokerStars will be running a €12 million guaranteed SCOOP series across Spain, France and Portugal.
- PokerStars’ Italian room will also be hosting SCOOP with another €5 million guaranteed.
- Winamax will be running its triannual flagship series with total guarantees of €15 million.
Winamax Launches New Online Summer Shots Series (June 2020)
Top line: “Winamax has announced a new online poker series called Summer Shots, with €1 million guaranteed across 53 events over a week in early July.”
Key takeaways:
- Summer Shots guarantees €1 million across 53 events over a week in early July.
- Tournaments are single-day events allowing a maximum of one re-entry.
- A wide variety of formats are on the schedule, from knockouts and Win-The-Button to Deglingos and Show One.
- A €200,000 KO Main Event rounds out the series with a buy-in of €50.
Winamax Celebrates Ten Years Under French Regulation (July 2020)
Top line: “French online poker room Winamax is reflecting on its ten-year history as a regulated online poker room in France with a highlights chronology.”
Key takeaways:
- The operator has gone through eight years under French regulationm then two under shared liquidity.
- By early 2012, Winamax had become the leading online poker room in France.
- The operator upended the online poker industry in 2013 with the launch of Expresso.
- In June 2018, it launched in Spain and shared its liquidity with France.
- It took Winamax only a year to regain the top spot in this new shared liquidity market.
- Today, it is the fourth largest online poker room in the world.
Winamax Schedules Largest Ever Series for September (August 2020)
Top line: “Winamax has scheduled its largest-ever Winamax Series for September, guaranteeing €17 million.”
Key takeaways:
- Winamax has announced it will be running its largest ever flagship Winamax Series in September guaranteeing €17 million.
- It features headline events with multiple Day 1s such as the €3 million guaranteed Main and €1 million guaranteed KO Event.
- Two new multi-flight tournaments extend the slate.
French Online Poker Operator Winamax Sponsors Top-Tier French Football Team (August 2020)
Top line: “French online poker operator Winamax has announced it has become the main sponsor of Ligue 1 football team RC Strasbourg Alsace (RCSA) for the next three years.”
Key takeaways:
- Winamax has become the main sponsor of Ligue 1 football team RC Strasbourg Alsace (RCSA) for the next three years.
- The Winamax logo will appear on the front of RC Strasbourg Alsace’s away shirts and on the back of home shirts.
- Social media promotion of Winamax will also form part of the sponsorship deal.
Battle in Southern Europe Resumes with €50 Million September (September 2020)
Top line: “Almost all networks in Southern Europe have scheduled their largest September tournament series in history as operators battle it out in the industry’s largest segregated markets.”
Key takeaways:
- PokerStars is currently running Galactic Series in both Italy and FRESPT markets with combined guarantees of over €21 million. Winamax has scheduled its largest series to date with €17 million in guarantees.
- Over on partypoker, a €5 million guaranteed Powerfest series is taking place.
- 888 is set to kick-off two €1 million guaranteed Millions SuperStorm series in Italy and on the Spanish/Portuguese network.
- Unibet’s French network powered by Relax Gaming has scheduled another DSO Online series.
Winamax Quietly Unveils Striking New Desktop Client (September 2020)
Top line: “In one of the most remarkable product updates in recent memory, French online poker leader Winamax has quietly unveiled an entirely new desktop client, rebuilt from the ground up, for real money public beta testing.”
Key takeaways:
- “We’ve been working on brand new software for several months now and I suggest to the most curious among you to test it.”
- The French operator has taken the opportunity to rethink the entire online poker experience.
- The changes are immediate to the point that, without the logo, one might be hard-pressed to realize that they were still on Winamax.
Winamax Poker Open in Dublin Cancelled (September 2020)
Top line: “French online poker operator Winamax has announced the cancellation of the Winamax Poker Open in Dublin, Ireland, scheduled to take place at the end of November, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.”
Key takeaways:
- French online poker operator Winamax has announced the cancellation of the Winamax Poker Open in Dublin, Ireland.
- Winamax will now shift focus to its 2021 schedule.
- It means all four Winamax live events for 2020 have been canceled due to coronavirus.
Winamax Relaunches Expresso Monopoly Promotion (October 2020)
Top line: “European online poker operator Winamax has relaunched its officially-licensed Monopoly online poker promotion, Expresso x Monopoly, in France and Spain.”
Key takeaways:
- The collection promotion debuted in 2019 and proved immensely popular with players.
- The Expresso x Monopoly games are triggered whenever an Expresso lottery sit and go game triggers a “2x” multiplier.
- These are all thematically linked to Monopoly, from property cards, stations and water works.
- Other cards result in a negative effect that is conferred to both players who lose the Expresso.
Winamax Reveals New Tournament Series, Winamax Pokus (October 2020)
Top line: “Winamax has unveiled a new low stakes tournament series, Winamax Pokus. €7 million is guaranteed across 141 tournaments, with the action set to kick off on November 1 across its two licensed sites in France and Spain.”
Key takeaways:
- €7 million is guaranteed across 141 tournaments, with the action set to kick off on November 1 across its two licensed sites in France and Spain.
- “We decided to keep the spirit of the Winamax Circus for Winamax Pokus: a full series of tournaments but with more moderate buy-ins.”
- Coming just after Halloween, the operator has called Pokus a “mystical and fantastic world.”
Winamax Collaborates with Mattel for new “Expresso x UNO” Mini-Game (December 2020)
Top line: “Winamax has launched Expresso x UNO, a new promotional mini-game in partnership with American games giant Mattel.”
Key takeaways:
- Players as tasked with shedding their hand of seven Uno cards within 15 tournaments with 2x multiplier-tournaments.
- It comes after the French online poker giant twice-ran the similar Winamax x Monopoly in partnership with Hasbro.
- Players receive seven cards to play within 15 games of 2x multiplier monopoly.
- Normal Uno rules apply: A card must match either the number or color on the card to be played.
- In the unlikely event this can be achieved in just seven games, the reward will be 100 buy-ins.
