“The two Poles of Internet Gambling: London versus Washington”

A policy aimed at disrupting the online gambling industry’s expansion is the actual stand being taken the United States as part of its pursuit in an ongoing hostile anti-Internet gambling policy. This action in particular could lead to dire results for those companies who are intending to float on the London Stock Exchange, and in general it could adversely affect the entire industry of the future of Internet gambling.

The United States is carrying out a number of belligerent steps, such as hunting companies which are using online gambling sites for advertising. For example, Bodog.com was advertised by Esquire magazine on Yahoo and ESPN and made to remove the ads. Furthermore, Google has been apprehended for showing gambling advertisement on their sites in the United States; credit card companies have been stopped from making transactions for online gambling services such as the eBAY owned PayPal; and similar transactions by Chase have also been stopped. As most of the online gamblers live in the United States, this last action could be very effective and destructive for the Internet gambling industry.

As most of PartyGaming’s Internet clients resided in the United States, this company would most certainly be affected by the mentioned steps taken. PartyGaming is getting ready for undertaking a five and a half billion pound contentious flotation on the Stock Market in London; and the pre-flotation brochure is to contain information concerning its four billionaire pioneers and data regarding the legality issue of Internet gambling in the United States. There will also be published information on the flotation’s financial consultants led by Dresdner Kleinwort and Wasserstein, and undoubtedly this information will be examined in magnifying glass detail. If the price of five and half billion pound flotation succeeds then forty four million pounds will be what Dresdner Kleinwort and Wasserstein are about to make. Seventy seven percent holding in the concern will be held by Ruth Parasol – who got wealthy from the business of Internet pornography – together with Russ DeLeon her husband and two other people who helped establish the company. The opinion of several interested investors is that PartyGaming’s ambitions for the flotation are set too high, and it’s preferable that the company emulates the Empire Online’s attitude rather follow this manner.

The first Internet poker company to issue a floating in London will be Empire Online, which has accumulated a new sum of nineteen million pounds reaching an overall value of one hundred and twenty three pounds. Five hundred pounds will be its market worth, and it’s to be evaluated at fourteen times this year’s income, far less than the twenty four times that of PartyGaming’s hopes. According to a City finance executive, the dividend yield doesn’t really matter, as its price should be valued modestly; however, no modest evaluation doesn’t seem to be forthcoming.