Experts: Online Gambling Crackdown Unlikely

WASHINGTON, DC – As reported by Reuters: "Online-poker company PartyGaming has warned investors that the U.S. government could interfere with its operations, but observers say that's about as likely as drawing four aces in a game of five-card stud.

"U.S. law enforcers are unlikely to directly pursue PartyGaming -- which plans a public stock offering in London next week -- or any other online-gambling company due to unresolved legal questions, several industry experts said.

"'It's so remote that the chances approach those of being hit by lighting,' said Joseph Kelly, a professor of business law at the University of Buffalo law professor who has helped other countries draft online-gambling rules.

"…PartyGaming plans to go public by June 27 in what promises to be the London Stock Exchange's largest IPO in four years.

"…The World Trade Organization ruled last year that the United States's anti-gambling stance violates international trade agreements, a decision the U.S. government has appealed.

"…Efforts to pass an anti-gambling law that applies specifically to the Internet have stumbled in Congress since at least the late 1990s amid a thicket of competing interests: horse racing, dog racing, state lotteries, Indian casinos and anti-gambling crusaders…"