Founders Resign From Board Of Party Gaming

Published: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

FOUNDERS RESIGN FROM BOARD OF PARTY GAMING

Techie whiz and marketing guru step down to pursue other interests

Surprise of the week was a report in The Financial Times Tuesday that two of the Party Gaming founders have stepped down from the board with immediate effect.

Party Gaming announced that Anurag Dikshit, the company's operations director and technology guru, would step down from the board to focus on the development of new products and platforms as head of research and special projects. A spokesman for PartyGaming said: "He's the best technology brains we've got. He just revels in developing new products and platforms. All our technology is proprietary and most of it is Anurag."

Vikrant Bhargava (35) the marketing director, will also step down from the board and leave the company at the end of the year to pursue other, unspecified interests.

PartyGaming has started looking for a replacement both within and outside the company, but hopes to retain him as an adviser after he leaves.

Technical expert Anurag Dikshit and marketing specialist Vikrant Bhargava between them owned 39.6 percent of the world's largest online gambling group, and made fortunes - GBP 500 million between them - when the company listed on the London Stock Exchange last year.

Both men are in their thirties, and were involved with reclusive Party Gaming major shareholder Ruth Parasol from the early days of the company, which went on to establish itself as the world's biggest Internet poker site.

Dikshit held 31 percent, and Bhargava 8.6 percent of the stock.