Online casino pays off US investigation

Shares of online casino PartyGaming jumped 17 per cent today after it announced a legal settlement with US authorities. The US Attorney General has been investigating the site since Congress outlawed online gaming for US citizens by passing the Safe Port Act in 2006. PartyGaming stopped taking bets from US customers, which it …

[Anonymous Coward]

You've got to be joking

>PartyGaming co-founder Anurag Dikshit

With that name this must be a lost and found April Fool's gag, all it needs is an 's' in the middle of the first name to seal it.

[Kevin Gurney]

"The EU is still investigating whether the US ban breaks world trade laws"

Like the US would care if the EU decided it was breaking this law !

[g e]

What a racket

Sounds to me like the real racket is being run by US.gov.

Looks pretty profitable, too.

Maybe all US gambling sites should be de-routed from the rest of the world on a quid pro quo basis.

[Cameron Colley]

RE: What a racket

Exactly. Democracy, and capitalism go out the door when the US government itself wants money -- then the US becomes just another communist junkta.

[Hugh_Pym]

The UN already ruled against the US on this

In the case Antigua brought. I don't see why the EU should be any different. The US saw fit to ignore what the UN said even though they made the rules in the first place so they will probably ignore the EU as well. Still as we know all US law is a one way street.

[Anonymous Coward]

Land of the free?

Land of the free? Yet you cant bet online

Oh not so free are you?

[Anonymous Coward]

What is corruption?

Pay off an official and you're doing corruption. Pay off the government and you can continue as you wish.

[Ian Michael Gumby]

@Hugh_Pym...

Is the Antigua case dead and over?

If so and the UN did rule against the US then it would be 'legal' for Antigua based companies to actually ignore copyrights of US based companies.

Here's a link I found on this:

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_33/b4046041.htm

I don't believe that this issue is over. If so, imagine Antigua being a major exporter of Microsoft OS and products that are copies of the real thing. They in theory could flood the market with cheap copies and there would be nothing Microsoft could do.

[Hugh_Pym]

@Ian Michael Gumby

Sorry it was the WTO not the UN and the US got away with a poultry settlement of around $20m. And that after years of pissing around. Pocket money really. They are still held to not honouring their agreement by the WTO because they still allow US online gambling companies to trade outside the US (and in the US if you count telephone horse race betting, and why wouldn't you). but well it's money isn't it who cares about what's right.

[Anonymous Coward]

@ Hugh_Pym Pedantic old chicken..

...a poultry settlement of around $20m....shurely you mean paltry... its' hard enough for the chicks with all the eggs going missing this weekend but paying $20m in chickens would real ruffle the feathers..