"Online Gambling Company's Shares Climb 11% on Day of Issue"

So far, uncertainties that PartlyGaming’s introduction on the London Stock Exchange would not go well, seem to be baseless. June 27 th, last Monday, PartlyGaming became a public company, issuing shares priced at 116 pence or $2.12 share. This turned out to be midway within the expected trading range, but by the end of the day the shares had shot up by a factor of 11%, actually closing at 129 pence per share which is $2.35. So by the end of the day, at the time of the market closing, PartlyGaming had reached a market value of more than nine billion dollars. This in fact, made it of more value than such casino empires as Harrah’s Entertainment or Wynn Resorts. It was actually almost as valuable as MGM Mirage. If this flotation continues t be successful, it will make PartlyGaming’s founders as well as many of its executives, multimillionaires. Its founders include the pornographer Ruth Parasel, along with her husband, J. Russel DeLeonski, who each hold company shares worth $370 million, as well as the company’s group operations officer, Anurag Dickshit, whose company share was worth $720 million. The three plan to maintain ownership of large stakes in PartlyGaming even after the selling of their stock.

Richard Seggal, PartlyGaming’s Chief, sees the company as continuing to grow. PartlyGaming’s intentions to target Europe and Asia for further expansion, should stand as a good indicator of its to be expected continued growth. PartlyGaming will center on its bingo and casino operations in these regions. Because of the amazing boom in its online poker business according to Seggal, this section of their business has been largely overlooked.

In the meantime, the public offering made for PartlyGaming was oversubscribed by a factor of three times. Such a volume is a clear indication that American fund managers purchased a substantial number of shares. PartlyGaming spokesman Ed Ridges has stated that shares are being sold to a broad international collection of investors. He would not however, identify which countries or funds participated.

Probably as a result of the still currently unclear legal status of Internet gambling in the United States, inquiries as to whether the larger U.S. funds such as Fidelity, Putnam, and Vanguard, participated in the offering were not responded to. In contrast to the current situation regarding the legality of online gambling that now exists in the States, in the U K, Britain which has legalized online betting, has welcomed the online gambling industry. In its efforts to draw operators from offshore locations to Britain, it has even established a gambling commission to control the industry. This act of legalization has already resulted in an sudden increase of marketing among gambling sites in Britain. A number of other Internet gambling businesses are anticipated to follow PartlyGaming’s example and go public as well on the London Stock Exchange, some time later this year. Two such companies that have already announced their intention to go public are Bala and 666.com.

Because of their fear of possible repercussions from legal authorities in the U.S., the big American financial institutions were missing from PartlyGaming’s offering. But because of the changed situation in the U K, the American fund managers with a British focal point may find themselves in a conflicted situation. It is reported that since PartlyGaming’s stock issue was of sufficient size, it is probably going to be included in the FTSE 100 index this September. The FTSE 100 index tracks the largest listed companies in Britain. This alone could actually force funds that invest in the index to purchase shares in a business that is not legal in their home.