GGPoker Partners With Grosvenor to Boost UK Live Poker

_{GGPoker and Grosvenor Casinos have joined forces to improve long-running live poker events, such as the GUKPT and Goliath. (Photo: Grosvenor Casinos)}

By Daniel Smyth

GGPoker will breathe new life into Grosvenor Casino's long-running live poker events, including the record-breaking Goliath.

The partnership signals GGPoker's latest move into the live gaming sector following its $500 million takeover of poker's biggest tournament series, the WSOP, in 2024. With WSOP attendance figures hitting all-time highs the following year, there's hope GGPoker can do the same for Grosvenor Casinos' live tours.

Two titans combine

Announced late last week, the partnership brings together two titans. Going live in 2014, GGPoker has become the biggest online poker site in the world, dethroning the once seemingly immovable PokerStars.

Grosvenor is one of the UK’s best-known casino brands. Founded in 1970, the company owns 52 casinos in the UK, 35 of which have poker rooms. Although
casino gaming has been its foundation since the seventies, poker has always been part of Grosvenor’s DNA.

Inspired by the success of series such as the European Poker Tour (EPT) and World Poker Tour (WPT), Grosvenor launched its own in 2007. Known as the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour (GUKPT), it's since become the go-to series for circuit grinders, plucky amateurs and aspiring pros.

Linking up with GGPoker will help not only the GUKPT but more than 50 live poker events under the Grosvenor Casinos banner, including the UK Open, Behemoth and Goliath. Commenting on the partnership, Grosvenor Casinos' Director of Gaming, Sue Price, said it will create new opportunities for players.

"This is a hugely exciting partnership for us and the poker community in the UK. We're confident that the strengths we both bring will result in improved experiences with more value delivered to our players", Price said.

She went on to say that, with GGPoker's help, Grosvenor Casinos will "grow" the poker side of its business and run "bigger events" with "increased prizepools".

What changes for players

Along with "new pathways" into Grosvenor events via GGPoker's network of online satellites, Angela Martin, UK & Ireland Head of Marketing at GGPoker, confirmed that there will be "massive cash boosts".

"At a time when rewards are being scaled back across much of the gaming industry, GGPoker is determined to do the opposite", said Martin.

Those who qualify for and buy into Grosvenor live events via GGPoker get access to these benefits:

• 20% cash boost: available to GGPoker players on winnings at the Goliath, G200 and G300 events.
• 10% cash boost: available to GGPoker players at all GUKPT stops.
• Exclusive promotions: including the GGPoker x Goliath Last Longer competition, which will boast a £5,000 prizepool.
• On-site perks: exclusive GGPoker merchandise and ongoing promotional rewards at live venues.

Martin explained that those perks are just the start of the innovations GGPoker will be bringing to tours such as the GUKPT.

Who stands to benefit

The deal is aimed at the UK's live poker community, from GUKPT regulars and circuit grinders to recreational players who enter flagship events such as the Goliath. Online players also gain new pathways into live tournaments through GGPoker's satellite network. With Grosvenor operating 52 venues across Britain, the partnership's reach extends well beyond London.

New hope in testing times

The deal's timing is fortuitous in many ways. With the UK gambling sector struggling due to recent tax increases and a general downturn in the economy, live poker events inevitably suffer.

The GUKPT has also evolved in response to economic conditions. The tour's £1,250 main event began transitioning from a freezeout to a re-entry tournament in 2014. This stemmed the tide of falling attendance figures and allowed Grosvenor to continue offering six-figure guarantees.

Today, although the variables are slightly different, the main events are on par with those in 2007. For example, the latest main event in London attracted 432 entries and paid a total of £450,180 in prize money. In 2007, during the GUKPT Grand Final in London, the festival’s £1,050 tournament saw 433 players create a £433,000 prizepool.

With help from GGPoker, there's hope future events will surpass previous highs.

The GGPoker effect

GGPoker has been one of poker's biggest success stories over the last decade. From a relative unknown entity focused on the Asian market, it's gone on to control large parts of the industry.

Its online poker site has a seven-day traffic average of more than 28,000 players, with peak numbers topping 98,000. GGPoker has also made its presence felt in the live arena by taking ownership of the WSOP.

The combination of exposure, satellites and prize money made 2025 a record-breaking year for the WSOP. The series as a whole welcomed 246,960 participants, the highest ever. Those players helped to generate a total payout of $481 million, which, again, was a record.

What comes next

The team at Grosvenor Casinos will be hoping for a similar uptick in numbers as the partnership with GGPoker matures. The cash boosts and satellite pathways are now live, and GGPoker has signalled the initial package is just the start. With the GUKPT season under way and the Goliath approaching, the first real test of whether GGPoker can replicate its WSOP success on British soil is not far away.