Party Poker is the official poker destination within the Party Gaming family of websites. Born in the mid 1990’s, it was one of the first successful business ventures relating to online poker. Unlike other gaming sites that disappeared after the dot com bust in the year 2000, PartyPoker only grew and gained market share as the new millennium was getting underway.
In 2005 Party Gaming went public on the London Stock Exchange in what was one of that market’s biggest initial public offerings ever. This IPO was a huge leap forward for the poker and online gaming industry. Instead of being viewed as an amateur business run by outsiders, it was now viewed as a legitimate and growing industry. After Party Gaming went public, it raised $9 billion dollars in capital making its founders and original investors into overnight billionaires Cmd368.
The only question mark in Party Poker’s business model was the legal status of online gambling. In 2006 the controversial UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) was passed in the US congress and signed by President Bush. Poker at that time was enjoying a resurgence and new found popularity and was now considered a mainstream sport. Because PartyPoker is based in Gibraltar, they weren’t too worried about any political or economic fallout due to the new legislation.
However, the lawyers at Party Poker decided that as a publicly traded company they owed it to their shareholders to fully comply with all US laws even if they were vague and contrary to international standards. Party Poker pulled out of the US market in October 2006, and did loose some market share, but its excellent reputation continued to help it grow in other worldwide markets, especially the UK. Today, even with all of the political and economic headaches they have experienced, Party Poker still holds the number four spot in number of registered players for all online poker sites.
