PartyGaming settlement with U.S. Attorney office over its online gaming activities in the United States has been given a handsome coverage in some high-profile media outlets. Many in the online gaming industry seems not happy with this development, as they are terming it an ambiguous, biased and unfair settlement from the US Attorney office, but the general consensus is positive overall. As per settlement a fine of 105$ million was imposed on party gaming, which is payable in three years duration.

According to the Associate press party gaming shares soared up by 15% once the settlement was announced. Many of the publicly traded online gaming companies stocks also went up on the London Stock Market.

Jeremy Warner in the U.K.’s Independent magazine wrote that “[The settlement] does remove a big uncertainty, which ought in time to allow renewed access to equity and debt markets so the company can begin the process of consolidating this still-fragmented industry.

Many analysts are terming it a good news as it helped party gaming to escape from criminal prosecution, while the amount payable is also very less compare to what was expected. The party gaming representative has itself admitted that “Prior to 13 October 2006, certain of the US customer transactions intended for PartyGaming that were processed by third parties, and other gaming and payment-related activity, were contrary to certain US laws,”

Gilbert Gaul a renowned and experienced writer of the Washington Post who also investigated the Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet scandals in cooperation with the CBS newsmagazine “60 Minutes” in late 2008 took a more skeptical view of the proceedings by mentioning “Prior to the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in October 2006, PartyGaming operated one of the largest and most active Internet poker sites in the U.S. The company immediately withdrew from the U.S. market and stopped accepting U.S. players, which caused a dive in its earnings and stock price. Nevertheless Justice Department prosecutors continued to consider charges against the company for targeting U.S. players before 2006, contending that previous laws also outlawed Internet gambling.”

Amid the happy faces, there are the still concerns, and many peoples are frustrated that a renowned brand of PartyGaming stature admitted to breaking laws, that are vague and confusing. Roger Blitz at the Financial Times also shared his concerns by stating “After all, the settlement essentially amounts to admission that the company committed bank fraud. ”

Tags: Party Casino, Party Poker, PartyCasino.com, PartyPoker.com

Posted by Diana Sterling in Online Gambling | 1 Comment »

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