UK Shares Skittish Due To US Info. Demands

Published: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Online-Casinos.com

U.K. SHARES SKITTISH FOLLOWING U.S. DEMANDS FOR INFORMATION

Resentment mounts as shares drop

There was evidence of some resentment in British business circles today as online gambling company shares dipped in the wake of the news yesterday that US officials were demanding access to information from British banks and other companies regarding the sector

A demand from the US Department of Justice for financial institutions in the UK and other European countries to hand over data connected with online gambling has hit shares in betting firms.

U.S. Department of Justice has allegedly sent subpoenas to some 16 investment banks across Europe and in the United States, requesting information as part of a probe into gambling companies including Britain's PartyGaming PLC and payment networks such as NETeller PLC, banking officials said. The documents were requested at the end of last year, but news of the move only surfaced this week.

Shares in the world's biggest online gaming group, Gibraltar-based PartyGaming, fell 9.8 percent, Sportingbet shares dropped by 3.4 percent and 888.com's share price fell by 3.5 percent.

The move by the American Department of Justice has not gone down well with the banks or their customers. After a huge outcry, the UK Treasury said that it was looking into the matter.