Poker Green Room

British Online Poker Firms Hit Hardest By US Ban

When the US Congress prohibited online gambling in the US Sept. 29, British gaming companies were hit hard and the popular belief that the cyberspace is a government-free sanctuary was dispelled.

British owned online poker companies reportedly lost approximately 75 percent of their revenue overnight when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 was passed. Roughly half of the worldwide market for online gambling are Americans.

Shares in PartyGaming, SportingBet and 888.com plunged while in contrast, the shares of UKBetting-a company which has avoided the US market ever since-rose by 11 percent.

President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law, having shown strong support for the legislation. Many say that the move wa made to appease the vital right-wing Christians-tagged as the "moral majority". However, not all forms of online gambling are banned. Online horse betting is still allowed, as well as betting exchanges, which could be good for some British firms.

"Exchanges could see this ban coming, as our own legality and existence has been challenged there. It seems like a disaster for those firms who dealt mostly in online poker, but the exemption for horse racing could be very good news for British racing and online bookmakers as well as exchanges. If the industry gets its act together, there could be a big future in broadcasting our racing to the USA and taking bets online from over there. After all, we now know they're legal," a spokesman for one betting exchange operator said.

"You can now see American racing on satellite television here in the UK and bet on it every night, so why not do it vice-versa and have Americans betting on our racing?" he added.