Publicly trading online gambling companies are rushing to sell off their privately held US facing brands ahead of President Bush's "inevitable" signing of an internet gambling bill that would seek to curb the activity via banking institutions. 

Media have been throwing names of potential buyers into the fold.

eGaming Review Magazine featured an article that listed Sportsbook.com's original founder among those looking to buy back this company and all its US facing brands from publicly traded Sportingbet in the UK.

The publication later recanted.

Sportingbet chief executive Nigel Payne has vehemently denied Sportsbook.com's founder was involved in any takeover talk with the company, the ezine said. 

"Following the news alert published on this website this afternoon, Payne
told eGaming Review that (Sportsbook.com's founder) was in no way involved in any negotiations to buy the US-facing side of the Sportingbet business and any
stories linking him to such activities were  "100% inaccurate".  Another source confirmed this, saying Callahan had  "nothing whatsoever to do" with Sportingbet in any capacity."

And while the publicly traded companies have declared they will be focusing more on Asia, the Asians seem more intent to focus on the United States it seems.

One of the bigger players that could come out of this chaotic situation is Mansion.com, founded by Asian billionaire and former cigarette mogul Putera Sampoerna.

The Guardian said the city was awash with rumours that Putera Sampoerna, one of Indonesia's richest men, had been sounding out shareholders about the possibility of his making a move for the under fire online gaming group.

Calvin Ayre vehemently denied rumors that he would be buying Sportingbet's US targeted brands.

Ayre confirmed he is not a potential suitor.  "We are definitely not...We do not waste cash on purchases when we could get branding value."

Analyst Tejinder Randhawa at Evolution Securities said the industry was splitting into two camps: the European-listed companies and those elsewhere looking to exploit the U.S. ban.

"The market will not go cold-dead overnight," he said. "There are huge opportunities, and all the private offshore operators are licking their lips."

Sector leader PartyGaming is still keeping its cards close to its chest, but spokesman John Shepherd said the ban risks forcing the Internet gambling industry underground.

"The protection afforded to millions of Americans by responsible companies is just about to be stripped away," he told the GamCare conference this week.

Yet being a publicly traded company hasn't exactly offered any protection to the countless numbers of customers awaiting payment from BetonSports.  That company closed shop in July and up until now has failed to pay back anyone with the exception of some of its employees. 

PokerNews.com reported that Neteller's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing Bruce Elliot told an audience of online gaming executives in Barcelona yesterday.

"We are staying in the U.S. I don't think we have a problem."

But that was probably before Friday's announcements from Barclays Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland that they would be advising clients to stay clear of online gambling transactions catering to the US market.  Neteller in particular has relied heavily on the European banking sector.  But Neteller's business does not entirely consist of online gambling transactions, so it is not known how the Barclays or RBS decisions will impact these companies at this time.

Following indictments of 21 offshore gambling entrepreneurs in March of 1998, many of the existing companies then reshuffled, changed their names, placed their companies under the "ownership" of local attorneys and in most cases principals in these firms assumed aliases such as Joe Smith, Tom Miller and Don Sanchez.

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Christopher Costigan, www.gambling911.com

Originally published October 12, 2006 1:13 pm ET

 

Watch for our upcoming interview on Michigan Live Talk Radio, which will be posted on the Gambling911.com website this weekend.