"Internet Gambling Now Bigger Than British Airways"

The Internet gambling company PartlyGaming, the same company that owns and operates PartlyPoker.com, has had a successful flotation of its stock on the London Stock Exchange. It has already seen its company value rise to about five billion pounds. PartlyGaming officially went public by launching its shares at an initial value of 116 pence per share. By day’s end the share value had gone to 129 pence per share.

As a result of this successful flotation and valuation PartlyGaming is now worth more than two of Britain’s largest businesses - British Airways and the retailer, Boots. This initial outstanding success also virtually guarantees PartlyGaming’s admission to the FTSE 100 index in the autumn. It is no surprise that PartlyGaming’s chief executive officer, Richard Begal, was jubilant by the reception of the company’s flotation by the United Kingdom and institutions throughout the world. He is quoted as saying that the listing will reinforce his group’s position as one of the world’s foremost online gaming companies. It will also according to him, enhance the group’s profile as the company seeks to expand internationally.

PartlyGaming is now absorbed in the development of its other gaming brands such as Starluck Casino and PartyBingo, in conjunction with its expansion efforts. PartlyGaming had focused most of its labors on developing PartlyPoker and had largely overlooked the development of its Starbuck Casino and PartlyBingo sites, because of the extraordinary growth in the online poker industry. Sometime in the beginning of next year PartlyCasino will be launched. The new site plans to employ common software and cashier systems enabling customers Sto play all of its games on one platform.

The starting flotation price of 116 pence per share, was situated well within the 111 to 127 pence range suggested to the Gibraltar-based company just prior to its actual flotation. It was however, a bit more conservative than many London experts had been anticipating.

The initial offering was made available only to large institutional investors, which proved to be a major disappointment to many potential investors. Only a few days later was full trading in the stock allowed. Still, not all fund managers are ready to recommend purchasing shares in PartlyGaming. Barclay and Clay is an example of one such fund manager. Barclay and Clay has been counseling its clients with regard to what it believes the ‘too many unanswered questions’ that are related to the future prospects of PartlyGaming, too many questions in their opinion for it to confidently recommend the stock. The main concern seems to be with the question of the legality of online poker in the United States. This is an important concern since PartlyGaming is known to presently generate almost 90 percent of its revenues from players who are residents of the United States. There is a real possibility that legislation prohibiting online gambling could be introduced, and this is engendering fears as regards PartlyGaming’s ability to continue generating its revenues in the future.

Other fears that need to be considered include the possible intensification of competition within the online gambling industry and the chance that the popularity of online poker is just an ephemeral fad.