Online gambling bill cuts firms’ stock value

WASHINGTON — Congress approved legislation restricting Internet gambling just before beginning a lengthy recess, prompting a major shake-up in the online wagering world. News of the congressional action sent online gambling companies into a tailspin when stock markets reopened Oct. 2. Shares of PartyGaming, the largest of the firms, decreased 58 percent on the London Stock Exchange, with the company losing about $3.8 billion of its market capitalization in the process, according to The New York Times. Another online company, 888 Holdings, saw its shares fall 26 percent on the same day, The Times reported. Both companies, based in Gibraltar, said they would halt transactions with American bettors if George W. Bush, as is expected, signs the bill into law. PartyGaming receives 78 percent of its income from the United States, The Times reported.

The Senate and House of Representatives passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in the early hours of Sept. 30. Both houses approved the measure as part of a bill to provide protection for America’s ports, with the Senate passing it by a voice vote and the House in a 409–2 roll call. The gambling measure requires financial institutions to block credit card and other payments to Internet wagering businesses, which are primarily located overseas.