World Series of Poker: How Playtika’s Montreal team has kept the mobile game on top

Social casino games have become a $4.2 billion business, and Israel-based Playtika has about a quarter of the market. The company, which was acquired last year by a Chinese consortium for $4.4 billion, generated an estimated $306 million in the most recent quarter, up 26 percent from a year ago, according to market researcher Eilers & Krejcik.

And a big part of that revenue comes from the World Series of Poker, a web and mobile game that is based on the popular TV show series. The game has a big brand name, but Playtika has been growing the property on an annual basis, thanks to a combination of aggressive user acquisition, live operations such as new kinds of tournaments, and big efforts to retain players. Those tactics have made the game into the “Candy Crush Saga of poker.”