PartyGaming, Sportingbet Shares Up on U.S. Law Speculation

Shares of online gambling firms PartyGaming and Sportingbet were up sharply in trading on the London Stock Exchange Wednesday, rising 11 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Curiously, there was no news to speak of that would cause the stock prices to jump so much.

Financial website Bloomberg.com reported, however, that the stocks “…rose on speculation that laws restricting online wagers in the U.S. may be relaxed.”

Where this rumor comes from is not known, as there has been no public discussion whatsoever of any possible change in the law in the near future. The only real talk has been an attempt to get poker a carve out in the UIGEA, but that is a process that could barely even be considered in an embryonic stage and would take a long time to happen. One analyst, Martin Slaney, who is head of spread betting at GFT Global Markets in London, said, “A relaxation in the law is seen as a possibility with talk that it is proving too onerous for banks to track illegal payments,” but right now, that just seems like an opinion more than anything else.

Other gaming companies, such as 888 Holdings and Cryptologic, were not up nearly as much, each rising less than 2 percent each.

Originally published 12:34 AM Thursday, February 22, 2007