Party Poker Indicating a Return to the US Poker Market
Written by Roger S | Sunday, May 9th, 2010
Jim Ryan, the Chief Executive Officer of Party Gaming, has told the media that his company is eying a potential return to the US poker and gambling market. Ryan was speaking on the release of Party Gaming’s Q1 report, which showed an overall rise in revenue of 27%.
Although Party Gaming’s revenue from its Party Poker site dropped, following reasons what the group cited as competition from US facing poker sites, Ryan said that he was very encouraged by the progress being made by US politicians to further bills that will hopefully replace the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.
Ryan speculated about the future of poker in the United States and said that as far as he could see, the government would most likely legalize online poker ahead of other gambling activities due to the game’s element of skill. “We are seeing increased momentum towards regulating online poker. It’s possible that it could happen this year and we’re prepared if it does,” said Ryan.
The CEO also said that the group’s plans to move back to the United States were not only in words. Party Gaming has already set up operations in the country, specifically in Los Angeles, with a team of nearly 40 people. The aim of this move was to establish how to create B2B deals with operators in the United States.
“We’ve got many number of U.S. operators who we’re talking to right now about providing them with online gaming services and software,” said Ryan. “That gives us good reason to think that regulation isn’t that far away.”
When asked about progress between Party Gaming and bwin over a speculated merger between the two gambling giants, Ryan declined to comment. “We are actively working on various opportunities. Discussions are at a preliminary stage with those that we are talking to,” was all that he was willing to say.
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· Written by Roger S · Filed Under Poker Gossip · Comments Off
