In the UK, The Times reported this week that PartyGaming, market
leader in the lucrative world of online poker, is believed to be planning
to float on the London Stock Exchange.
The report revealed that the company is currently understood to be
in talks with investment banks to discuss the wisdom and timing of
such a move.
The Times says that much may depend on the legal issue of gambling
in the US, where the vast majority of customers are based, currently
so complex and ill defined, particularly for poker. It is currently
illegal to offer American citizens fixed odds betting, but poker rooms
do not fall into this category, as they only take a rake of the pot.
It is not yet clear how much PartyPoker is worth, but estimates suggest
profits are somewhere in the region between $100 million and $200
million a year. At peak playing times, the site has had more than
50,000 people playing at more than 5,000 tables.