Party Gaming, the Gibraltar-based company that has been embroiled with
the US Department of Justice in negotiations for years now regarding the
company's alleged involvement in illegal gambling activities in the United
States, is finally seeing the results of its hard work paying off, after shares
in the company rose on the London Stock Exchange this week.
The share price jump came soon after the Financial Times reported that Party
Gaming's co-founder, the billionaire Anurag Dikshit, agreed to cooperate with
the US Department of Justice and plead guilty to a charge relating to online
gambling.
While the newspaper said that Dikshit had agreed to pay $300 million in
forfeiture settlement to the United States, a statement issued by Party Gaming
claimed that the amount would be significantly lower than reported.
"The company's discussions with the Department of Justice have made good
progress and it is currently negotiating the final terms of a possible
settlement," read a Party Gaming statement. "On the basis of the discussions to
date, Party Gaming expects any settlement with the Department of Justice to
involve the payment by the company of an amount that is significantly lower than
that reported to be paid by Mr. Dikshit."
As a result of the news that the Party Gaming case is finally reaching an
end, other online gambling companies also reacted well. Shares for 888 Holdings
jumped 10.4%, while Sportingbet shares climbed 14.8%.
