Divorcing PartyGaming Founders Sell Stake in Gambling Firm Ahead of NJ Bid
Two of online gambling’s richest people are divorcing and will also be giving up their respective shares in bwin.party, the world’s largest digital gambling firm.
James Russell DeLeon and Ruth Parasol DeLeon started what was then PartyGaming in the early part of this past decade. PartyGaming would go on to become the world’s largest online poker room and the single biggest IPO on the London Stock Exchange in 2004. Its IPO was bigger than that of British Airways in fact.
The couple will place their stakes of 7.16 percent each into a trust to be sold over the next three years under an agreement with New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), the company said on Thursday.
Under state legislation, substantial shareholders in gaming groups also have to submit individual license applications, something that the DeLeons did not want to do for reasons of privacy, bwin.party said.
Analysts at Numis said the agreement indicated that it was more likely that bwin.party would be eligible to start operations in New Jersey next month.
"It seems unlikely to us that it would have been executed so near to the start of online gambling in New Jersey if bwin.party were not likely to get permission to participate," they said.
Bwin.party applied in July for a license in New Jersey, the third state after Nevada and Delaware to legalize online gambling.
The industry sees New Jersey as the most lucrative casino market based on size and the fact its law encompasses many forms of gambling, while Nevada's regulations only allows online poker.
The Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City is partnering with bwin.party and was the first property in the seaside casino destination to be granted an online gambling permit.
Shares in bwin.party traded up 2 percent at 124.8 pence by 0835 GMT.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com and Reuters
