Partygaming Dikshit’s Guilty Plea

Dikshit’s Guilty Plea Causes Anger in Online Gambling World.

Co-founder of Party Gaming, Anurag Dikshit’s decision to pay out $300 million in a plea bargain with the US Department of Justice and his admission of guilt for engaging in ‘illegal online gambling activities’, has angered other co-founders of the company, as well as top executives in the online gambling world.

They fear that the plea will start an unwelcome trend in the market. “Dikshit's decision has created a rift with his former Party Gaming colleagues, in particular the three other entrepreneurs who helped launch what was once the world's biggest poker service. 

Ruth Parasol, her husband Russell de Leon and their marketing guru, Vikrant Bhargava,” said a Times article over the weekend. “ It will also have troubled executives at other big online gambling companies, such as 888 Holdings. And it could have grave implications for the entire gambling industry, estimated to be worth more than $12 billion a year.”

The US has been pushing its weight around since the UIGEA was introduced, attached to a completely unrelated bill.  It is hoped that the Obama Government will overthrow the regulations but that remains to be seen. 

It is thought in many circles that eventually the US will legalise and regulate gambling in the country to collect the many taxes that come with it.  This would be a real kick in the teeth for the people they are targetting with lawsuits at the moment given the poor laws relating to gambling within the US. 

Dikshit, a multi-billionaire, can afford to lose $300 but the gambling industry can't afford to continue to let the US Government run over it in this way.

2009 is sure to bring many new challenges to the online gambling industry, compounded by the state of the ecomony Worldwide - we'll keep you informed.

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