888.com Talking To US Justice Officials

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Following Party Gaming's announcement, 888.com says it, too is exploring the American legal situation

The Party Gaming revelation earlier this week that it has initiated talks with the US Attorney's Office for the southern district of New York has been followed by an announcement from Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings that it, too is in discussions with the Americans regarding the online gaming firm's liability to prosecution for taking bets in the US prior to the American ban on internet gambling financial transactions late last year.

Describing its discussions with American officials as "preliminary", 888 spokesmen told UK business media: “It is too early to assess any particular outcome of these discussions." They added that 888 started the talks following uncertainty over the likelihood of action by US law enforcement agencies regarding activity in the US prior to the enactment of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) on Oct 13 last year.

Rival online gambling group Party Gaming confirmed earlier that it had initiated discussions with US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, voluntarily responding to a request for information issued by the office.

888 blocked US resident customers from playing or making deposits on any of the group's real money sites immediately following the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act.

The Internet gambling group said it would make further announcements "as and when appropriate."

PartyGaming and 888 Holdings are both advised by the law firm Freshfields, according to the information site Hemscotts.

James Hollins, an analyst at broker Daniel Stewart, said he believes that exploring possibilities with the US authorities is "...the most sensible route for operators that used to offer their services into the US, essentially working with the authorities to hopefully draw a line under any potential ongoing litigation".

Richard Carter, an analyst with Numis Securities agrees, adding that he thinks these talks are a positive development for the industry in regard to the American situation. "Although it is too early to assess the outcome of these discussions, our intelligence tells us that there now appears [to be] a willingness on behalf of the US Attorney's Office to settle and draw a line under the uncertainty caused by recent DoJ actions," he said.