PokerStars Settlement Great for Everyone Except Bwin.party Investors

While nearly everyone in the poker community seemed elated by news of a settlement between the US Government and PokerStars paving the way for that company to some day re-enter the US market, executives and shareholders at one betting firm may have been cursing out all those involved. 

Bwin.party it seems has taken quite a hit by the news in recent days.  The company has witnessed a 10 percent decline in its share price over the past three days. 

"At first glance, the implications of this agreement appear to be negative for bwin.party," said Davy analyst David Jennings in an interview with Proactive Investors UK. 

Jennings made mention that Stars is Bwin.party’s biggest competitor.

"Pokerstars says it intends to re-launch Full Tilt Poker within 90 days," he said.

"With PokerStars' marketing budget behind it, it may well be able to resuscitate the severely damaged Full Tilt brand, bringing a fresh competitor back to the European poker market.

"Secondly, with this agreement in place, Pokerstars' European licences now appear to be completely safe. 

"Any hope that bwin.party investors may have had that some day its European licences could be impacted by a prosecution in the US will now fade.

"Combined, these two factors mean that the poker revenue line at bwin.party is likely to remain in a state of structural decline."

On Tuesday, the US Government confirmed a report appearing on the Gambling911.com website whereby PokerStars would agree to forfeit $547 million to the US Government and pay $184 million owed to foreign players by one time rival Full Tilt Poker.

- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com