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Backgammon Ltd will host a flagship event, Backgammondollars Million, to be launched in June, which will offer the biggest prize in the game.

A broadcast partner and title sponsor for the event are expected to be announced within the next 10 days. The launch will also be backed by global marketing activity, initially focusing on the UK, US and Scandinavia.

Backgammonmillion.com will host a series of global online tournaments. The winners of these will progress to a final to be held in the Bahamas in December.

At this point, the online finalists will be joined by a mixture of professional players and celebrities, who will buy in to the event to compete for a $1m prize pool.

An additional online community, BeachBackgammon. com, will feature both pay-and-play games and those using 'beach dollars' to allow free play.

Backgammon Ltd is seeking to replicate the successful business model used by online poker firms such as PartyPoker.com and Paradise Poker. The latter was recently sold to SportingBet for $300m (£158m).

GameAccount will act as exclusive service supplier to the firm's online backgammon operations.