PartyGaming closes deal with United States DoJ

What is all boils down to is this: PartyGaming has agreed to pay $105M in exchange for the DoJ to not follow up on any “criminal” charges being brought against any of PartyGaming exec’s. As we all know, the DoJ has had their sights set on PartyGaming for quite some time now, and have since the passing of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) about 2½ years ago. The DoJ used the wire act, a law that was passed in 1961, as the basis of their fight against PartyGaming in regards to their accepting wagers from citizens of the United States.

I have a great feeling that the UIGEA will be repealed next year, and even Forbes is alluding to this, in their statement of “If online gambling is legalized in the U.S. next year, that will put the company in good standing with regulators.” at the end of their opening paragraph in this source’s article.

PartyGaming’s stocks took a nosedive back in August 2006,when they announced that they would suspend operations in the USA if the UIGEA bill was signed into law by Dubya. However, upon the news of their agreement with the DoJ, PartyGaming’s stock rose as high as 262.50p before leveling off for the day and closing at 250.00p for a gain of 31.00p, or 14.16% in all.

All in all, this is great news, and just another brick in the wall (yes, I love Pink Floyd) that Barney Frank is building to try and repeal the UIGEA in the very near future. Keep your fingers crossed!

Author: GamesAndCasino