PartyGaming Former Executive Mitch Garber Joins Harrah’s

Harrah's, which owns the World Series of Poker, has just brought former PartyGaming CEO Mitch Garber on board to head a new company that will handle its online operations.  The move has fueled speculation that Harrah's will begin offering online poker.

"They won't in the States yet," a source tells Gambling911.com.  "But trust me, it will happen in the next two years."

The news comes following PartyGaming's settlement with U.S. authorities to avoid future prosecution for accepting bets in the States prior to passage of an online gambling prohibition, the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA). 

 PartyGaming has agreed to pay $105 million over four years as part of the non-prosecution agreement.

"The settlement with the DoJ is better than we expected both in terms of the size of the settlement and payment structure. The settlement with the DoJ should mark a point of inflection for the group which can look forward without being anchored by the past," said KBC Peel Hunt analyst Nick Batram.

Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher