Bwin.Party wins US online gaming deal
BWIN.PARTY has planned its route into the US by signing a deal with a Californian casino operator.
The gambling firm has agreed a partnership with the Thunder Valley Casino Resort, valid for ten years from the date online poker services are legalised in the US.
The United Auburn Indian Community (UAIC), the federally recognised tribe that runs the Sacramento-based casino, would be a qualified licence applicant when legislation is introduced to regulate online gambling.
The US has tricky laws concerning internet gambling, with the Federal Wire Act, which bans the use of telecoms lines for gambling on sports, widely understood to prohibit online sports betting.
But draft legislation proposed in February could see online gambling permitted and regulated within California, with a likely ten per cent tax on gross gaming revenue.
UAIC tribal chairman David Keyser said: “We see the legalisation of internet poker and other internet gaming as being inevitable.”
If California pushes through the legislation, Bwin.Party will be one step ahead of its rivals. Keyser said the firm was “our first choice as partner” after meeting with several internet gambling companies.
Its shares fell XX per cent to XXp.