Calling the Clock: Hills/Amaya Merger; Party News; Charity Tales

In this week’s Calling The Clock we bring you news of a potential merger between William Hill and Amaya Gaming, a trio of tales from partypoker including the opening of their new Twitch channel, and lots more.

The major story of the week is the talk surrounding a proposed reverse takeover with William Hill taking over Amaya Gaming. Both Hills and Amaya have seemingly been in the shop window for a Betfair/PaddyPower type deal for some time now. Hills recently turned their back on a three-way deal with Rank & 888, while former Amaya God, David Baazov, pulled out of his plan to take the company private, GVC has gone quiet, and rumours of Isaia Scheinberg taking the company back under his wings are yet to fruit.

The deal, if it went ahead, would expose PokerStars online poker players to William Hills sportsbook, and Hills punters to the largest online poker room in the world.

The deal could hinge on two major issues. The first would be Hills exposure to the unregulated waters that Amaya likes to swim in, and the second is a yet unresolved legal dispute ongoing in Kentucky that could cost Amaya $870m in damages. Hills won’t want any part of that bill.