Ireland dealt good hand as US poker firm relocates


1 Aug 2006

A California-based poker software company is in the process of relocating its corporate headquarters to south Dublin and will create up to 200 new jobs, siliconrepublic.com has learned. The move comes in the wake of moves by US legislators to tighten up laws on online gambling.

Tiltware LLC is a US poker software company behind Full Tilt Poker, a fast-growing gambling website designed with the help of some of the biggest names in poker: Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson, Phil Gordon, Howard Lederer and Clonie Gowen.

The company is understood to be already in rapid recruitment mode in Ireland and is offering salaries starting at €30,000, averaging at €80,000 and reaching up to €120,000 with generous 20pc bonus schemes plus benefits such as lunch and an in-house gym.

So far it is understood that 30 of the company’s employees have relocated to Cabinteely in Dublin and the company has hired a further 40 key members of staff.

The company is seeking to recruit a further 100 people within the next 12 months.

Typical positions being sought include web analysts, system analysts, marketing project managers, data warehousing analysts and email marketing specialists. The company is also seeking copywriters expert in poker as well as vice-president roles.

According to sources, there is a need for TiltWare to relocate outside the US due to new laws that outlaw US software companies from supplying technology infrastructure to online gambling businesses.

Over the past year, US legislators have been working to stymy the rapid growth of online gambling. Last month, the US House of Representatives passed a bill which updated the 1961 Wire Act explicitly to outlaw online gambling through any communications network.

Under the bill, criminal penalties would increase from a maximum of two years in prison to five years. The bill has yet to pass through the Senate before it take effect.

By John Kennedy