US Online Gambling Law Change Could Boost Foreign Gaming Stocks
US Online Gambling Law Change Could Boost Foreign Gaming Stocks
Lawmakers have heard the complaints from millions of US citizens over the past few months regarding the countries online gambling laws. The legislators have responded by offering up a few bills that could forever change the global Internet gambling market. If changes do occur to the current US laws, it is foreign gaming companies that could stand to see the biggest increase in revenue and stock price.This past week, Bwin.party Digital, a company formed after the merger of PartyPoker and Bwin Entertainment, saw a stock jump of almost ten percent on the news that the newly formed company had partnered with Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts. The agreement between the gaming giants would allow Bwin.party to operate online casinos for MGM and Boyd when the US laws change.Several other US gaming companies have gone the route of partnering with foreign companies that already have online portals up and running in other jurisdictions. The benefit for these companies is that the US may look more favorable on a group that can get an online casino up and running quickly, which could help MGM, Boyd, and other companies gain a license in the US.In the UK, the online gambling business is booming, but most analysts believe the US is the top Internet gaming market in the world. Companies have been tapping into the US market for years, even with the vague laws the government have created regarding the practice. Only recently have lawmakers started to take residents’ pleas for a regulated system seriously.Gaming stocks experienced some of their darkest days in the period during and immediately after the economic recession of 2008. In the time since, the stocks have started to rebound, and the nine percent increase seen with Bwin.party after the partnership with Boyd and MGM shows that investors are willing to take a chance on the Internet gambling industry in the US.Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands have forged their own alliances with foreign gaming companies earlier this year. Wynn terminated its partnership with PokerStars shortly after Black Friday. on that day, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, two of the largest online poker sites in the world, were indicted for violating the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.The UIGEA is the law that Representative Barney Frank and other pro-online gambling lawmakers have been trying to overturn since its inception. Frank now has the support of dozens of legislators, including some that have been strong opponents to online gambling regulations in the past. November 3, 2011Posted By Terry GoodwinStaff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.comSubmit News!
