The new U.S. Gambling Law is taking its economic toll on the gambling industry, which has just been signed into law by the President. Many publicly listed internet gambling firms have been taking an economic tumble in the markets since the bill was first passed on September 29. Some companies, like CryptoLogic, experienced an immediate decline in their stock value. For CryptoLogic it was 20% decline within a few hours. For Excapsa Software, it was a 66% decline in value. Party Gaming’s shares declines so much that they dropped out of the FTSE 100.
The signing of the bill into law this morning, 10-13-06, brought some immediate responses from some of the bigger gaming interests. Two large bingo online gaming interests have sold their U.S. businesses for a token $1. These companies are Sportingbet and Leisure and Gaming, who have withdrawn from the U.S. Market. World Gaming’s directors resigned. The company is now being run by administrators.
Since the President signed the bill on 10-13-06, many online gambling interests have pulled out of the United States. The new legislation doesn’t make it illegal to offer online gambling, it makes it illegal for financial institutions to process transactions for UK online casinos gambling. Many online casino organizations say that they will continue to offer their services and feel that they are not affected by the legislation. Most financial transactions are handled by third party middlemen, like NeTeller and others so the player is not dealing directly with the online casino when it comes to financial transactions. |
