Partygaming in the Red

[GaF]

No great surpsise I dont think, though their share price is UP on the news :loon http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6968062.stm

US law hits Partygaming results

Partygaming says existing operations are doing well Half-year profits at online gambling firm Partygaming have been wiped out, after the firm ended trading in the US following a change in the law. The Partypoker website operator posted a pre-tax loss of $47.1m (£23.5m) for the six months to June. Last year it reported a pre-tax profit of $320.5m. Laws passed in the US last October effectively made it illegal to trade there, hitting the business. But continuing operations were performing "strongly", the firm added. Partygaming's shares rose almost 19% to 27 pence in afternoon trading on this news. But the firm's shares are still less than a fifth of what they were at their peak at the beginning of 2006 when they hovered around 155p. Sweeping changes In October, President George W Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, criminalising the transfer and handling of payments from online gambling. See Partygaming's shares The move caught the industry off guard, and set in motion sweeping changes which saw Gibraltar-based Partygaming withdraw from the US market where it collected most of its revenue and profit. Despite the huge setback, the group added a record number of non-US new players - up 83% to 403,713 - with its casino business showing the strongest growth in the first half. Revenue from Partygaming's continuing business, which strips out the impact of the loss of the US market, showed a 42% increase to $212.5m, up from $149.8m the year before. Poker still contributed the biggest share of total revenue, with the company's PartyPoker website leading this arm of the business. Watching developments The firm noted that a number of new bills had been introduced in the US over the past few months that, if successful, would create a legal framework for online gaming under which operators would be licensed, regulated and taxed. It also observed that Antigua and Barbuda want sanctions worth $3.4bn imposed on the US for breaking a World Trade Organization (WTO) gambling ruling. But the firm added that the outcome of such measures were uncertain. Partygaming also said it had withdrawn from Turkey earlier in the year after it too introduced legislation making online gaming unlawful.