 PartyGaming
Execs Allowed Back
in US: Will Not Face
Prosecution
Gambling911.com,
which has been
reporting details of
a PartyGaming
settlement with the
US Government in
recent weeks, can
now reveal that
PartyGaming
executives have been
given the green
light to travel back
and forth between
the United States
without fear of
prosecution.
Founder Ruth Parasol
- now one of a
handful of online
gambling industry
billionaires - has
not been able to
travel to the US
while PartyGaming
negotiated with US
authorities as
industry concern
spread about
possible legal
action against
companies that took
bets from Americans
before a 2006 law
barred foreign
betting Web sites.
At
first, the US
Government demanded
severe prison
sentences and steep
fines. Details
of a settlement
agreement were not
readily available
early Saturday
morning, however,
Gambling911.com has
confirmed that some
PartyGaming
executives have
traveled to and from
the United States in
recent days as per
flight itineraries
obtained by the
website.
PartyGaming jumped
10 percent, the
steepest gain since
Oct. 25, according
to Bloomberg News.
Sportingbet Plc, the
Web bookmaker that
owns Paradise Poker,
rose 7.6 percent,
while online casino
company 888 Holdings
Plc advanced 3.5
percent as analysts
said a U.S.
settlement may act
as a trigger for
mergers and
acquisitions across
the industry.
PartyGaming
spokesman John
Shepherd declined to
comment.
Shareholders in
Party have watched
developments unfold
on the
Gambling911.com
website over the
past few weeks after
we reported a
settlement agreement
was nearing.
Any settlement by
Gibraltar-based
PartyGaming would be
``material'' and
would ``give people
a better idea what
they were worth if
they were open to
acquisition,''
Mark Brumby, an
analyst at Blue Oar
Securities in
London, told
Bloomberg Friday.
Prior to the passage
of the Unlawful
Internet Gaming
Enforcement Act in
October 2006,
PartyGaming's
PartyPoker site held
more than half the
online poker market
in the world with
over 70 percent of
the customers coming
from the United
States. Since
having to depart the
US the day after the
UIGEA was passed, PartyPoker has
dropped to the 4th
biggest online poker
room in the world.
It
was doubtful that
PartyGaming would
conduct business
once again in the
United States any
time soon.
-----
Christopher
Costigan,
Gambling911.com
Publisher
CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com
Originally published
May 31, 2008 12:54
am EST
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