Euro Poker Shares Rise After U.S. CrackdownGaming Plc Shares Get Boost As Online Poker Rooms With U.S. Players Face Uncertain Future |
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Shares in publicly-quoted Euro-facing online poker operators rose this morning after a weekend which sent the poker world into a tailspin when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 11 people connected with three leading online poker rooms operating there.
Both PokerStars and Full Tilt, whose founders have been indicted, have subsequently pulled out of the U.S. online poker market. A third room, Absolute Poker, has yet to make a statement on the legal development which could see the three forfeit at least US$3 billion in a parallel civil suit.
However the old adage that one person’s difficulty is another’s opportunity seems to be playing out on this side of the Atlantic with Reuters reporting share jumps in major European gaming stocks as a result of non-exposure to the U.S. market.
The recently merged bwin.party digital leapt 35 percent, Playtech, owner of the iPoker network was up 11 percent and 888 was up seven percent this morning.
Analysts Daniel Stewart & Co. said, “We expect to see migration of liquidity to listed regulated online operators as the federal case develops in the US. Though the case appears to be in its infancy, it leaves the door ajar for regulated European operators to seal a deal with US companies like Wynn Resorts and Fertitta Interactive who have now backed away from their association with Stars and Tilt.
Elsewhere Geetanjali Sharma of Execution Noble commented, "The U.S. facing operators have been a drain on the profitability of the European operators as their U.S. liquidity drew the non-U.S. poker players and at the same time these operators diverted cash gained from the U.S. operations to gain market share in the regulating territories in Europe.
“The closure of the main competitors’ operations and the U.S. legal proceedings initiated against them should benefit European listed operators.”
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