Gaming Domain Name Sales in December: $209,895
31, December 2007
Moniker may not have the sales volume of AfternicDLS or Sedo, but month after month, Moniker brokers some of the largest reported gaming domain sales. Monte Cahn & Co. scored big again this month with the sale of Poker.mobi for $150,000 at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. East.
For comparative purposes, earlier this year, Poker.de sold for $957,937 (NICIT/DOMAINfest) and Poker.in sold for $60,000 (private sale), while Sportsbook.mobi sold for $129,800 (private sale); Casinos.mobi sold for $52,000; Scores.mobi sold for $33,000; and Gamble.mobi sold for $33,000. If you value Poker.mobi according to these other sales (always a dangerous thing to do in a bull market!), then this deal seems very fair for both the buyer and seller. We discuss this transaction in greater detail below.
On a side note: yesterday, Moniker was acquired by Oversee.net, the parent company of SnapNames, for a reported $65M. Kudos!
This month would have been huge in gaming domain land were it not for some technical problems with Sedo's third premium .mobi auction. All sales were voided after Sedo's servers crashed with only a few minutes of bidding remaining. The high bid for Games.mobi was $401,500 immediately prior to the crash. The auction is scheduled to start over on January 23rd, so it appears that we will see some fireworks next month.
For the second month in a row, AfternicDLS and Sedo were in close contention for selling the most gaming-related domains. Both domain exchanges sold 8 domains.
Afternic's sales included GameNetworks.com for $5,000; VoiPlay.com for $5,000; EasyWin.net for $4,088; GameFinders.com for $2,500; GamesForKids.net for $2,488; GamesWeb.net for $1,188; GamesCentral.net for $1,188; and GamesXchange.net for $1,088.
Sedo's sales included PokerStars.es for $14,484; Jeugratuit.fr ("free game" in French) for $5,863; WinBig.co.uk for $4,069; RoyalFlush.de for $2,199; CasinoTime.it for $1,441; NetCasino.org for $1,050; and OnlinePoker.ch for $1,050.
Finally, NameJet sold AddictgGames.com ("typo" for AddictingGames.com) for $2,500 and GameLaw.com for $2,000, while Moniker chipped in the sale of PokerTournaments.co.uk for $1,049 at its Affiliate Summit.
Steal of the Month: Poker.mobi for $150,000. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I think that this is one of the smarter buys that I have seen all year.
Similar to many professional domainers, I believe in the .mobi TLD. After the iPhone came out, a number of pundits decried the end of the mobile web. They asked: why would you access mobile sites, if you can access the "real web" through your cell phone? Well, for one reason, it is difficult to navigate the real web on a phone, because the screen is too small. Internet companies are supporting the growth of the mobile web, because by tailoring mobile websites to consumers' mobile devices, they can make web information more accessible to handsets' small viewing panes.
Why is Poker.mobi a good buy? Because, out of the gate, Poker.mobi has the best opportunity to become the top, mobile poker platform. Mobile web browsers tend to give priority to .mobi sites, which should enable the site to quickly generate a lot of traffic. With a relatively small development budget, Poker.mobi should become a popular mobile poker platform, and if it can gain any traction, then it will become an immediate acquisition target for cash-rich online gambling companies that are always locked in a struggle to find new manners by which to gain a competitive advantage.
Prior to Sedo's servers crashing, the high bid for Games.mobi was $401,500. "Games" is clearly one of the top keywords; however, in my opinion, Games.mobi is probably more difficult to monetize than Poker.mobi, because if you want to optimize the domain, you need to license a large number of games to turn it into a mobile games platform, as opposed to a single, extremely popular game, which has far higher potential, advertising value.
Dog of the Month: AddictgGames.com for $2,500. Over the past three years, six other "typos" for AddictingGames.com have been sold, AddickingGames.com for $3,600 (SnapNames); AdictingGames.com for $4,700 (Pool); AdditcingGames.com for $4,655 (SnapNames); AddictiogGames.com for $2,900 (Pool); and AdditctingGames.com for $2,900 (Pool). AddictingGames.com is a free, casual game portal owned by Atom Entertainment, which is in turn owned by MTV Networks, which is in turn owned by Viacom.
Approximately half of the "typos" that have been purchased re-direct users to another casual games platform called Y8.com, which is in direct competition with AddictingGames.com, while the other half of these "typos" re-direct users to a variety of parking pages.
AddictgGames.com is our "dog" of the month, because this is a "typo" that does not receive much traffic. We saw and passed on four "typos" that were dropped two weeks ago for AddictingGames.com that were far better than this one. Moreover, it is a "typo" of a trademarked term for a popular site owned by a huge conglomerate that has a legal department that probably makes a combined salary higher than the GDP of most small countries. This is a shady manner by which to gain more traffic at the expense of a rival and exemplifies the sort of behavior that is spurring increased regulation of the domaining industry.
December Sales Chart:
Poker.mobi: $150,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
PokerStars.es: $14,484 (Sedo)
Jeugratuit.fr ("free game" in French): $5,863 (Sedo)
GameNetworks.com: $5,000 (AfternicDLS)
VoiPlay.com: $5,000 (AfternicDLS)
EasyWin.net: $4,088 (AfternicDLS)
WinBig.co.uk: $4,069 (Sedo)
GameFinders.com: $2,500 (AfternicDLS)
AddictgGames.com ("typo"): $2,500 (NameJet)
GamesForKids.net: $2,488 (AfternicDLS)
RoyalFlush.de: $2,199 (Sedo)
GameLaw.com: $2,000 (NameJet)
Hack.info: $1,650 (Sedo)
CasinoTime.it: $1,441 (Sedo)
GamesWeb.net: $1,188 (AfternicDLS)
GamesCentral.org: $1,188 (AfternicDLS)
GamesXchange.net: $1,088 (AfternicDLS)
NetCasino.org: $1,050 (Sedo)
OnlinePoker.ch: $1,050 (Sedo)
PokerTournaments.co.uk: $1,049 (Moniker Affiliate Summit)
The Top 10 Gaming Domain Sales of 2007:
(1) Scores.com: $1,180,000 (Moniker)
(2) Poker.de: $957,937 (NICIT/DOMAINfest)
(3) CrosswordPuzzles.com: $210,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
(4) Poker.mobi: $150,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
(5) Sportsbook.mobi: $129,800 (Private Sale)
(6) Bingo.org: $75,000 (Private Sale)
(7) GalaBingo.com: $65,750 (SnapNames)
(8) Joystick.com: $65,000 (SnapNames)
(9) Poker.in: $60,000 (Private Sale)
(10) Tournaments.com: $55,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
Annual Gaming Domain Sales Charts:
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Monthly Gaming Domain Sales Analysis:
November
October
September
August
July
Game TLD Editor's Note:
We really appreciate any information with respect to premium gaming domain name sales. If you have recently purchased a gaming domain name or know of someone who has, please let us know at editor@gametld.com. We continually strive to make our sales charts more comprehensive and accurate.
For comparative purposes, earlier this year, Poker.de sold for $957,937 (NICIT/DOMAINfest) and Poker.in sold for $60,000 (private sale), while Sportsbook.mobi sold for $129,800 (private sale); Casinos.mobi sold for $52,000; Scores.mobi sold for $33,000; and Gamble.mobi sold for $33,000. If you value Poker.mobi according to these other sales (always a dangerous thing to do in a bull market!), then this deal seems very fair for both the buyer and seller. We discuss this transaction in greater detail below.
On a side note: yesterday, Moniker was acquired by Oversee.net, the parent company of SnapNames, for a reported $65M. Kudos!
This month would have been huge in gaming domain land were it not for some technical problems with Sedo's third premium .mobi auction. All sales were voided after Sedo's servers crashed with only a few minutes of bidding remaining. The high bid for Games.mobi was $401,500 immediately prior to the crash. The auction is scheduled to start over on January 23rd, so it appears that we will see some fireworks next month.
For the second month in a row, AfternicDLS and Sedo were in close contention for selling the most gaming-related domains. Both domain exchanges sold 8 domains.
Afternic's sales included GameNetworks.com for $5,000; VoiPlay.com for $5,000; EasyWin.net for $4,088; GameFinders.com for $2,500; GamesForKids.net for $2,488; GamesWeb.net for $1,188; GamesCentral.net for $1,188; and GamesXchange.net for $1,088.
Sedo's sales included PokerStars.es for $14,484; Jeugratuit.fr ("free game" in French) for $5,863; WinBig.co.uk for $4,069; RoyalFlush.de for $2,199; CasinoTime.it for $1,441; NetCasino.org for $1,050; and OnlinePoker.ch for $1,050.
Finally, NameJet sold AddictgGames.com ("typo" for AddictingGames.com) for $2,500 and GameLaw.com for $2,000, while Moniker chipped in the sale of PokerTournaments.co.uk for $1,049 at its Affiliate Summit.
Steal of the Month: Poker.mobi for $150,000. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I think that this is one of the smarter buys that I have seen all year.
Similar to many professional domainers, I believe in the .mobi TLD. After the iPhone came out, a number of pundits decried the end of the mobile web. They asked: why would you access mobile sites, if you can access the "real web" through your cell phone? Well, for one reason, it is difficult to navigate the real web on a phone, because the screen is too small. Internet companies are supporting the growth of the mobile web, because by tailoring mobile websites to consumers' mobile devices, they can make web information more accessible to handsets' small viewing panes.
Why is Poker.mobi a good buy? Because, out of the gate, Poker.mobi has the best opportunity to become the top, mobile poker platform. Mobile web browsers tend to give priority to .mobi sites, which should enable the site to quickly generate a lot of traffic. With a relatively small development budget, Poker.mobi should become a popular mobile poker platform, and if it can gain any traction, then it will become an immediate acquisition target for cash-rich online gambling companies that are always locked in a struggle to find new manners by which to gain a competitive advantage.
Prior to Sedo's servers crashing, the high bid for Games.mobi was $401,500. "Games" is clearly one of the top keywords; however, in my opinion, Games.mobi is probably more difficult to monetize than Poker.mobi, because if you want to optimize the domain, you need to license a large number of games to turn it into a mobile games platform, as opposed to a single, extremely popular game, which has far higher potential, advertising value.
Dog of the Month: AddictgGames.com for $2,500. Over the past three years, six other "typos" for AddictingGames.com have been sold, AddickingGames.com for $3,600 (SnapNames); AdictingGames.com for $4,700 (Pool); AdditcingGames.com for $4,655 (SnapNames); AddictiogGames.com for $2,900 (Pool); and AdditctingGames.com for $2,900 (Pool). AddictingGames.com is a free, casual game portal owned by Atom Entertainment, which is in turn owned by MTV Networks, which is in turn owned by Viacom.
Approximately half of the "typos" that have been purchased re-direct users to another casual games platform called Y8.com, which is in direct competition with AddictingGames.com, while the other half of these "typos" re-direct users to a variety of parking pages.
AddictgGames.com is our "dog" of the month, because this is a "typo" that does not receive much traffic. We saw and passed on four "typos" that were dropped two weeks ago for AddictingGames.com that were far better than this one. Moreover, it is a "typo" of a trademarked term for a popular site owned by a huge conglomerate that has a legal department that probably makes a combined salary higher than the GDP of most small countries. This is a shady manner by which to gain more traffic at the expense of a rival and exemplifies the sort of behavior that is spurring increased regulation of the domaining industry.
December Sales Chart:
Poker.mobi: $150,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
PokerStars.es: $14,484 (Sedo)
Jeugratuit.fr ("free game" in French): $5,863 (Sedo)
GameNetworks.com: $5,000 (AfternicDLS)
VoiPlay.com: $5,000 (AfternicDLS)
EasyWin.net: $4,088 (AfternicDLS)
WinBig.co.uk: $4,069 (Sedo)
GameFinders.com: $2,500 (AfternicDLS)
AddictgGames.com ("typo"): $2,500 (NameJet)
GamesForKids.net: $2,488 (AfternicDLS)
RoyalFlush.de: $2,199 (Sedo)
GameLaw.com: $2,000 (NameJet)
Hack.info: $1,650 (Sedo)
CasinoTime.it: $1,441 (Sedo)
GamesWeb.net: $1,188 (AfternicDLS)
GamesCentral.org: $1,188 (AfternicDLS)
GamesXchange.net: $1,088 (AfternicDLS)
NetCasino.org: $1,050 (Sedo)
OnlinePoker.ch: $1,050 (Sedo)
PokerTournaments.co.uk: $1,049 (Moniker Affiliate Summit)
The Top 10 Gaming Domain Sales of 2007:
(1) Scores.com: $1,180,000 (Moniker)
(2) Poker.de: $957,937 (NICIT/DOMAINfest)
(3) CrosswordPuzzles.com: $210,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
(4) Poker.mobi: $150,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
(5) Sportsbook.mobi: $129,800 (Private Sale)
(6) Bingo.org: $75,000 (Private Sale)
(7) GalaBingo.com: $65,750 (SnapNames)
(8) Joystick.com: $65,000 (SnapNames)
(9) Poker.in: $60,000 (Private Sale)
(10) Tournaments.com: $55,000 (Moniker T.R.A.F.F.I.C.)
Annual Gaming Domain Sales Charts:
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Monthly Gaming Domain Sales Analysis:
November
October
September
August
July
Game TLD Editor's Note:
We really appreciate any information with respect to premium gaming domain name sales. If you have recently purchased a gaming domain name or know of someone who has, please let us know at editor@gametld.com. We continually strive to make our sales charts more comprehensive and accurate.