Rumors out of the recent International Casino Exhibition (ICE) conference, which was held in late January in London, seem to point to a new era in online gaming in the United States – if and when the government legalizes and regulates online gaming.
According to an article from the Daily Mail in London written by Geoff Foster, the recent ICE convention brought together some of the major players in the online and live gaming industries. Some of the featured conference participants were such players in the online poker world as Bodog, the Ongame Network, Playtech, and the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. Of particular interest to American players is a rumor regarding Party Gaming.
The Daily Mail reports that Party Gaming, which is preparing for its merger with bwin by the end of March, signed a deal on the first day of the conference (January 26th) to team up with two major U.S. casino companies to provide an online gaming portal if and when the country’s government licenses and regulates the online gaming industry.
There are four firms that are mentioned by the Daily Mail – Boyd Gaming, MGM Resorts International, the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and Caesars Entertainment – as possible suitors for Party Gaming in the deal. While the Daily Mail released no financial information, the newspaper stated that it is a “lucrative deal.”
Of the four companies mentioned, three of them are publicly traded. Boyd Gaming, MGM Resorts, and Las Vegas Sands, are all actively traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Of the four, only Caesars Entertainment is private.
It is one of the worst kept secrets in the online gaming and poker industries that Party Gaming is attempting to prime itself for a return to the U.S. market. Immediately after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, Party Gaming was one of the first companies to withdraw its family of sites, including PartyPoker, from American action. In the five years since, the company has seemingly made amends to the U.S. government.
In December 2008, one of the founders of PartyPoker, Anurag Dikshit, entered into an agreement with the U.S. government admitting to violations of American laws regarding online gaming. Dikshit pled guilty to one count of violating the Wire Act of 1961 and paid $300 million, although he was only sentenced to one year of probation and no jail time.
In April 2009, Party Gaming and the Department of Justice entered into a non-prosecution agreement over the company’s actions prior to the enactment of the UIGEA. The decision was done, in part, to ease the transition for Party Gaming when American laws allow for online gaming to be licensed and regulated. Party Gaming is currently paying a fine of $105 million over a four-year period for prior violations of U.S. laws.
News of the possible deal has had an effect on the stock prices of all the players mentioned. Party Gaming saw its shares on the London Stock Exchange jump after the Daily Mail article, starting at 185 pence and ending the day at 196.7. It has since come back down, ending trading on Tuesday at 178.3 pence. Boyd Gaming, MGM Resorts, and Las Vegas Sands continue to show increases in their stock prices.
Although the Daily Mail seems to have many of the details in the purported deal, none of the players in the game will comment on whether it has any truth. Poker News Daily contacted representatives of Party Gaming, whose only comments were “We don’t comment on rumor or speculation.”
