The coordination polymerization of allenes with ester functionality such as ethyl 2,3-butadienoate (2a) and tert-butyl 2,3-butadienoate (2b) by allylnickel catalysts is described. The catalyst consisting of [(allyl)NiOCOCF3](2) (1) and an equimolar amount of PPh3 proved to be suitable to perform the living polymerization of both 2a and 2b giving rise to polymers with controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution. The kinetic studies indicated that the polymerization of 2a is faster than 2b and any other allene derivatives bearing alkoxy, alkyl, and phenyl substituents although 2a was expected to have much poorer polymerizability judging from its lower electron density on the allene moiety.