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Party Gaming CEO Predicts Consolidation Efforts to Dominate IndustryThe announcement of Party Gaming's half yearly results have presented the perfect opportunity for CEO Mitch Garber to share his thoughts on the future of the online gambling industry. Garber spoke to journalists on a conference call recently and shared his opinions on what he believes future developments in the gambling world will entail. According to Garber, consolidation will be a key feature of the industry in the coming months. This will occur after the threat of US legal action has been lifted. “The fact that companies like ours and 888 have voluntarily approached the Department of Justice is a giant step towards putting legacy issues behind any of the companies,” Garber told media. PartyGaming and rival online gambling firm 888 Holdings plc have been seeking clarification on the possibility of legal action initiated by the US Department of Justice. The Justice Department had hinted at follow-up action against those firms that had been illegally operating within the US before the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was signed into effect by President Bush last year. Garber said that following what he hopes will be a “satisfactory resolution,” he expects consolidation activity to be the focus of the industry. “Being a $2-3 billion market cap company, we can certainly be a consolidator of fair sized companies and we can be a target of several of the mainstream, large international gaming companies. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that, at some point in time, both of those opportunities will present themselves and we'll deal with them as they come,” he said. A recent acquisition of 888 Holdings by Ladbrokes PLC failed to materialize after the British gambling firm felt the risk of taking on legal concerns caused by 888's former presence in the US market was too high. Back to News Archive - September 2007 |
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