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PartyGaming is ready to enter the U.S. market assuming legislation is passed that would allow for online poker companies to be licensed in the States. But while Party and its original co-founder Anurag Dikshit have been in negotiations with U.S. authorities to settle for activities prior to passage of the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), two of the company’s other co-founders – both U.S. citizens – Ruth Parasol and her husband Russ De Leon – refused to settle. Parasol and Dikshit both became billionaires in 2006. Dikshit has been ordered to pay a significant fine to U.S. authorities.
CEO Jim Ryan told EGRMagazine.com: “Perhaps a shareholder is going to be in the way of us getting a licence or completing a suitability review”, the company could obligate the shareholder to liquidate their position.
Ryan added: “There’s always been questions about PartyGaming and our position to do that, but we have now closed the loop and I think we are very well positioned for re-entering. Now all we need is regulation.”
Last week, HR 2267 made it through a House Subcommittee and is now on its way for voting in both the House and Senate. The legislation seeks to make online poker legal and licensed in the U.S. The bill’s author, Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass) remains cautiously optimistic.
He told Gambling911.com this week: “YES (the bill will pass) if enough of them (online poker players) will get on the phone and get to their emails and pressure their representatives and senators. No, if they don’t.”
When asked what he thought about European online gambling firms like PartyGaming entering the U.S. market should the bill become law, Congressman Frank responded: “I must tell you that I’m more interested in the right of people in this country (The United States) to do what they want on the Internet than to protect this or that foreign company.”
But Party already has a foothold in the U.S. through its relationship with Harrah’s.
Said Ryan: “Another interesting catalyst are the efforts of Harrah’s and the WSOP, that they’ve announced they are actively pursuing a strategy has moved a lot of their competitors into looking at and exploring and wanting to partner up with other operators in the sector. Then we’ve got the catalyst of GTech acquiring various online gaming assets and talking to state-run lotteries about what online businesses can do for their revenue streams.”
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
