PartyGaming Scraps Planned Interim Dividend

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

05 October 2006

Gibraltar-based PartyGaming announced on Tuesday that following the decision taken by its Board to suspend all real money gaming business with US residents upon the Safe Port Act being signed into law by President Bush, which is expected within the next two weeks, the Board has decided to cancel the interim dividend that was due to be paid on 31 October 2006.

In a statement, the online gaming firm explained that:

"The Board believes that cancellation of the interim dividend will allow the Company to take advantage of the many attractive opportunities in the sector that will emerge over the coming months. In due course the Board will review the appropriate dividend policy for the ongoing Group."

Online gaming firms were rocked last weekend by the news that the US Congress had approved legislation effectively banning all online gaming, by making it illegal for banks and credit card firms to make payments to such internet operations.

The online gaming provisions were tacked by Senate Majority Leader, Bill Frist (R-Tenn) onto the unrelated Safe Port Act.

Commenting on the passage of the legislation, Frist argued that:

"Gambling is a serious addiction that undermines the family, dashes dreams, and frays the fabric of society. Congress has grappled with this issue for 10 years, and during that time we've watched this shadow industry explode. For me as majority leader, the bottom line is simple: Internet gambling is illegal. Although we can't monitor every online gambler or regulate offshore gambling, we can police the financial institutions that disregard our laws."

Shares of publicly quoted gaming companies fell dramatically on the London and other stock exchanges,

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