Unfortunately Middlesborough were unable to bring home the UEFA Cup for their shirt sponsors, 888.com, but things are looking otherwsie rosy for the gaming operator.

They are one of the bigboys in the sector, and financial results released to the City this week reflect the fact that are getting bigger and bigger, and it's all thanks to us, the world’s poker players.

For the first quarter of 2006, net gaming revenue rose to $84 million, up 42% on last year.

Of this, revenue from poker only rose to $39 million, an increase of 95% compared to last year. Poker revenues have doubled within a year, which illustrates the explosive growth of poker.

888.com boast 238,427 active poker playing members, which is almost three times as many casino playing members, with the monthly poker rake up 66%

In October 2005 888's shares were admitted to the main market of the London Stock Exchange with an initial market capitalisation of £590 million. That’s some bankroll.

Not only are they cash rich but 888.com have been instrumental in the regulatory process, which makes sense, as the more legitimate their operations, the higher the potential is for profit.

As new players discover poker and begin to play online, they’re going to be more likely to play if they feel they are in a regulated environment. It also makes for fairer play, and better customer service, something which we all enjoy.

Allied with this is the search for innovation and new products, and the company reinvests a great deal of capital into Research and Development. This arm of the company is based in Israel and develops proprietary software for exclusive use by 888.com.

In April the group released a new poker product introducing a new multi-hand feature which is expected to increase actvity.

They also provide all back office functions, so there is no reliance on third parties, which creates problems for other operators, naming no names.