May 10, 2010 (CAP News Wire) – After seeing an impressive jump in its first-quarter revenue for 2010, PartyGaming has announced that it is actively in talks with potential partners that would allow it to enter the U.S. market.
“PartyGaming, which operates the PartyPoker and PartyCasino sites, said it was encouraged by congressmen Barney Frank and Jim McDermott’s moves to push through a new bill to regulate online gambling which was made illegal in the United States in 2006,” Reuters reports.
Either the news source or PartyGaming itself is apparently choosing to ignore the fact that the U.S. online gambling legislation is moving painfully slowly. For his part, PartyGaming’s CEO is publicly very optimistic, telling reporters that “the most likely initial move by U.S. authorities would be to legalize online poker, seen as a game of skill, which could in time lead to other forms of online gambling being allowed.”
In addition, Ryan revealed that PartyGaming has set up a new base of operations in California, complete with 38 staff members, and that the brand is actively engaged in talks with “possible business-to-business deals with U.S. operators”.
As the report indicates, PartyGaming is still thought to be likely to merge with Austria’s online betting giant bwin later this year. If PartyGaming’s American efforts are successful, then the merger would be perfectly in sync with bwin’s newly announced plans to enter the U.S. market, as well.
Ryan declined to comment in the article on the potential bwin merger.
All this comes after PartyGaming reported a whopping 27 percent increase in its first-quarter gross revenue, reaching $127.1 million. That growth has been directly attributed to growth in the company’s online casino, bingo and sports betting divisions. Its Internet poker division has not fared as well, however, and the company attributes that fact to its denial of U.S. customers thanks to the UIGEA.
As one of the world’s five largest online poker site, PartyGaming would likely be a powerful force when and if it enters the U.S. market. And online poker affiliate marketers promoting the brand would suddenly have access to huge new levels of traffic and revenue.
Click here for details on the PartyGaming affiliate program.