Online poker market leader GGPoker announced Thursday that it is purchasing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brand from Caesars Entertainment in a $500 million deal.

GGPoker’s parent company NSUS Inc. will pay $250 million up front and another $250 million in five years.

Caesars will continue to host WSOP flagship series

While GGPoker will own the brand, Caesars will remain involved in several ways. Most notably its Las Vegas properties will continue to serve as the home for the annual six-week live flagship event.

Caesars Digital will also retain the licensing rights to the brand names for its online poker operations in New Jersey, Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania “for the foreseeable future.”

“After collaborating with Caesars Entertainment for years, NSUS Group, the operators of GGPoker, is thrilled to announce their new role in leading the World Series of Poker, the world’s most renowned poker brand,” said NSUS Group CEO Michael Kim. “We will leverage GGPoker’s cutting-edge technology and industry expertise to create an exciting future for WSOP, ensuring players have an increasingly improved, safe, and seamless poker experience. Under the new leadership, NSUS intends to expand WSOP worldwide, positioning it at the forefront of poker’s growth.”

GGPoker will retain control of WSOP Ontario

GGPoker is the platform behind the WSOP-branded online poker room in Ontario. The site launched in September 2022 and is the only WSOP-branded poker site that is not powered by 888. The Ontario site will stay with GGPoker as part of the deal.

“We’ve enjoyed a longstanding and successful partnership with GGPoker that has helped spur the growth of the WSOP brand,” President of Caesars Digital Eric Hession. “This transaction is an exciting step for Caesars as a company and the WSOP brand as it continues to evolve. We can’t wait to see what NSUS has in store for growing the WSOP’s legacy in poker, and we look forward to continuing to deliver an unmatched and familiar experience to poker players going forward.”

During the Caesars earnings call this week, Hession confirmed the WSOP brand generated $20-$25 million in revenue annually, very little of which came from the online poker operations.

While the company will lose out on the licensing rights that come with the brand, the continued partnership on the flagship live event will continue to generate incremental revenue that Caesars CEO Tom Reeg noted on the earnings call includes room rates, slot play, table games play and food and beverage spend.