PARTYGAMING SETTLES WITH US GOVERNMENT - Posted by KatA 

PartyGaming has reached a settlement with the US government that will see them avoiding any future prosecution. As a part of their settlement they’ll pay $105m in fines by September 2012. After the settlement was announced, Partygaming share prices rose 16 percent and started a trend among other online gambling stocks. Sportingbet’s rose 10% while 888’s went up by 8%. Many feel that this settlement will lead to others, which will restore faith in the stability of online gaming. The deal was much better than analysts were expecting and put PartyGaming in an excellent position moving forward. Chief executive Jim Ryan says the company is now “well placed to seize organic as well as strategic opportunities that were previously beyond our reach”. The deal is especially sweet when you compare it to Anurag Dikshit’s settlement from months earlier. Dikshit, a Partygaming co-founder, agreed to pay the US Government $300m and faces jail time. Ouch.