The Queen of Hearts

PartyGaming and 888 suspend service to US customers

PartyGaming and its marquee PartyPoker.com brand will be departing from the US market along with 888.com, both of which trade on the London Stock Exchange.

PartyGaming issued a statement saying:

"If the President signs the act into law, the company will suspend all real money gaming business with U.S. residents, and such suspension will continue indefinitely."

Congress passed the legislation Sept. 30, making it unlawful for credit-card companies to collect payments for transactions with online-gaming sites, though the banking sector admits it does not have the necessary resources in place to prevent other forms of payments such as electronic checks and bank wires.

Gibraltar-based 888 said in a Regulatory News Service statement that the legislation will have a "material adverse impact" on its performance this year and thereafter. PartyGaming said its profit would be "significantly short of consensus forecasts" for 2006 and 2007 after a U.S. suspension.

888 said about half of its revenue is made in the U.S.

Officials from PokerStars have told other industry executives they too plan on leaving the US market, though it is unclear why the privately held company would take such a drastic measure so prematurely.

Meanwhile, The Ritz Club, the gambling arm of London’s most famous hotel, has announced that it has closed its online gaming site following the recent spate of industry arrests in Europe and the US.

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posted by Queen of Hearts @ 02:28