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PartyGaming Shuts Doors To American Players

PartyGaming, owner of the world's biggest Internet poker company, said that their profits will fall an estimated $250 million this year after a US legislation was signed into law by President Bush, stopping it from taking bets in America, its main market.

The Gibraltar-based company's market base is almost 3/4s Americans. Along with PartyPoker.com more than 100 other online poker sites are pulling the plugs on their US operations including ParadisePoker.com.

President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act into law Oct. 13, effectively shutting down most online gaming in the US by prohibiting banks and credit card companies from handling online gambling related transactions.

The legislation which was attached to an unrelated Port Security Act, was passed by the US Congress on Sept. 29.

"Adjusting to the new world is something that everyone in the business has been focusing on," said PartyGaming chief executive officer Mitch Garber. Garber added that discussions on potential acquisitions with more than one party are ongoing.

Analyst at Oriel Securities in London Mark Brumby predicts that PartyGaming will be "a fraction of its former self". He said that non-US revenue has dropped approximately 2 percent in the current quarter as some gamblers prefer to place their bets on competing companies.