| Top > News > 2006 > March > 29 Mar 2006 |
2005 Online Casino Roundup |
| The online casino industry is never without controversy, and 2005’s events were no exception. Among the highs and lows of the year was the highly publicized lawsuit between online casino rivals Empire Online and Party Gaming, the prominent acquisitions of online casino sites by sports betting sites and vice versa, and of course further successful entries by gambling firms onto the London Stock Exchange. Without doubt, the disagreement between Party Gaming and Empire Online made industry headlines for months. After dissolving its agreement with a number of online casino poker skin companies, Party Gaming backed out of a proposal offering to purchase Empire Online and produced its rival with a second proposal with a substantially decreased sale price. Empire Online subsequently took Party Gaming for court and won its case, settling for a large sum in compensation. Several acquisitions were made in the online casino industry by sports betting sites keen to take advantage of the ever-increasing poker boom. Some online casino firms such as 888 also announced it was looking to purchase a sports betting venture. Diversification and cross-selling became the industry’s buzz words, after Party Gaming began to offer blackjack on its site, and Bet on Sports announced it intended to convert traditional sports betting fans into poker customers. Several online casino firms followed the lead of larger companies and floated to generally high levels of success on the London Stock Exchange and the London Alternative Investment Market. Activity to watch this year includes online casino software provider Playtech’s imminent appearance on the London Stock Exchange, and Party Gaming’s appointment of a replacement for outgoing CEO Richard Segal. |
Copyrighted 2005 © Bet At USA. All rights reserved.