888 to suspend business from US customers

888 is affiliated with Pacific Poker, one of the large poker rooms. I have a lot of uncleared bonus at pacific, so this sucks.


888 Holdings, one of the biggest companies in the $12bn online gambling industry, is expected to suspend indefinitely business from US customers on Monday.

The move comes as the sector braces itself for a massive reaction from investors to the dramatic US decision to tighten its anti-gambling laws. People close to 888 said they believed the company would issue a statement to the London Stock Exchange accepting that the passing of the bill in the US Senate on Friday would have a "material" detrimental impact on its business.

The bill prohibits US gamblers from using credit cards, cheques and electronic fund transfers to make online wagers, and throws the high-risk industry – already damaged by the impact of arrests of executives on US soil – into turmoil. One person in the industry said the bill was an attempt to "strangle the industry through the banks".
PartyGaming, the biggest online gambling company, said it was "evaluating the situation".

SportingBet – whose former chairman Peter Dicks returned to the UK on Saturday after a New York court refused to extradite him to Louisiana, where he faced a charge of "gambling by computer" – was believed to be preparing a statement for the stock exchange, but is expected to wait to assess the impact of the bill.

888, which relies on the US for half its profits, was said to be in the process of deciding to make a clean break with the US, paying back gambling deposits paid by customers when they registered on the company's websites.

But trading on Monday is likely to hit the sector hard as investors, who have been waiting for the outcome of the Senate bill, get their first chance to respond to its passing. "It's going to be pretty devastating," said one adviser to a sector company.
Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.

what a bunch of pussies!!!!!


worse thing that could have happend is that there was a 3 day wait between this bill and the next "true" work day . If this was the next day it probably would be business as usual from them. Hopefully others don't follow suit.

I expect that out of gambling places that are "public".

I contacted customer support and they gave me some BS about not suspending players tomorrow. I've got $207 in there that is only 1/10 cleared. Maybe i'll just play some NL 500 or something.

This quote is surprising. How is Party Poker going to function without US players? Btw, it's from another source, i can't find it.

"PartyGaming, the world’s biggest internet gambling company, said last night that it was “still evaluating the situation”, although industry sources believe it will also announce a cessation of its services to American punters."

There are other poker sites that are refusing to take US business.

valdosta said:

I expect that out of gambling places that are "public".

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I agree-especialy companies on the London Exchange.

Plenty of private companies wait in the wings, my friends. Trust me on this.
There have been moves in the background of this industry, that makes this a dream come true for them.

Buisness is booming for some, I can assure you.


It will hurt you short term, but a better product will emerge in the long run.

I will add this will backfire on the Euro's. When they figure out the tremendous mistake they made, it will be too late. The people will not come back. Why would you ever want to be with public company that wont even stand up and defend its self? Only Sportingbet is doing the right thing.

Publicly traded companies are a thing of the past and a rapidly growing in the mist of seeming destruction 12 billion dollar a year industry, has gone underground and gotten a lot bigger.



From a marketplace stand point, these are good things. A lot of thieves will now be departing the society. Many bottom feeders to, but they have a way of hanging around. A lot of shaky books are going bye, bye as well.

This should curb the bonus frenzy a good deal and send many whores on there way.


Dont get me wrong, this panicing before anything is signed and 270 days are up will hurt, but the rebound will be 5x bigger than the fall.


I PROMISE YOU ALL.

When you think about it from a operations 101 point of view, THE FEDS ARE DOING US A FAVOR, BY DOING THE DIRTY WORK FOR US. A lot of garbage will get flushed out.


History has shown that everytime the Feds have pushed everybody far abck behind the line, the society and culture as a whole comes back 3x stronger.

IT WILL BE NO DIFFERENT THIS TIME.

Sugarbear....you should come down here to Costa Rica to view things first hand....your views on the industry are right on.....be glad to show you around.

VIEJO DINOSAUR said:

Sugarbear....you should come down here to Costa Rica to view things first hand....your views on the industry are right on.....be glad to show you around.

Click to expand...

Thank you. It could come to pass with the way things are going. That deal Jim did, was just the tip of the iceburg.

A glimpse at the future perhaps? Thx Clevfan.

888 eyes non-gambling online entertainment in U.S

Tue Oct 3, 2006 4:54 AM ET



LONDON (Reuters) - Online gaming group 888 Plc <888.L> is looking at how it can transform its U.S. operations to focus on games not covered by a pending ban on online gambling there, Chief Operating Officer Gigi Levy said on Tuesday.

The ban, which was approved by congress early on Saturday, will set the company's performance back to its level in mid-2004 he told Reuters.

"Our core capability is not gambling per se -- it is bringing people to the website, selling them the products and giving them the best customer service," he said.

"We'll take those capabilities to other products and we see fantasy sports as a possibility," he added.

Levy said he expected the World Trade Organization (WTO) to take a look at the U.S. ban, which awaits presidential approval that is seen as certain. But he saw no quick solution.

"The last three weeks were very good and the last three days were surprisingly some of the best ever," Levy said when asked about 888's trading. "Maybe it's the fact that our name has been in nearly every newspaper in the world and people have been checking us out."







Excellent PR move.

In case you missed it.

Sugarbear said:

I will add this will backfire on the Euro's. When they figure out the tremendous mistake they made, it will be too late. The people will not come back. Why would you ever want to be with public company that wont even stand up and defend its self? Only Sportingbet is doing the right thing.

Publicly traded companies are a thing of the past and a rapidly growing in the mist of seeming destruction 12 billion dollar a year industry, has gone underground and gotten a lot bigger.



From a marketplace stand point, these are good things. A lot of thieves will now be departing the society. Many bottom feeders to, but they have a way of hanging around. A lot of shaky books are going bye, bye as well.

This should curb the bonus frenzy a good deal and send many whores on there way.


Dont get me wrong, this panicing before anything is signed and 270 days are up will hurt, but the rebound will be 5x bigger than the fall.


I PROMISE YOU ALL.

Click to expand...

Just a reminder.