British Business Group Fighting Back Successfully

The UIGEA online gambling ban passed in the US, forced Sportingbet plc, one of the UK publicly listed companies, to withdraw from the US market that provided most of its profit and sell off US-facing interests only months ago. It immediately changed its market focus and pace and this week a spokesman revealed that it expects to meet analysts' full-year earnings forecasts even after disposing of its U.S. operations.

"Sportingbet is trading in line with market expectations," the spokesman said. Sportingbet exited the lucrative U.S. market, and sold its sports-betting, casino business and poker operations in October to Antigua-based Jazette Enterprises Ltd. on the day that U.S. President George W. Bush signed a law that outlawed online gambling fund transfers.

Now Associated Press reports that 8 U.S. states currently have laws specifically prohibiting Internet gambling: Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Washington.

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