The Poker Lab Rat

Ladbrokes International Ltd is preparing a £440 million takeover bid for 888 Holdings according to company sources. As reported in an earlier January article ‘US stance on online gambling fuelling a market for opportunists’, a selective approach to capitalising on company assets was likely. Lawyers for Ladbrokes were said to be working on a strategy that would strip 888’s assets - including customers, website and intellectual property - but would stop short of buying the company as a whole, relieving it of criminal liability in the US.

Previous talks between these online gambling and sportsbook operators stalled over fears stemming from legal action related to US anti-gambling legislation. Bankers and lawyers for Ladbrokes believe the asset stripping strategy will relieve it of any criminal liability in the US faced by 888.com.  The introduction of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act has had little or no impact on Ladbrokes own operations as residents of the United States have been excluded for some time.

Industry commentator, Kishan Nielsen has indicated that many organisations are watching Ladbrokes approach to running the gauntlet with the new US legislation. He stated that “while a number of organisations like Ladbrokes are likely to act as consolidators of less viable gaming and gambling operations, a lack of test cases is a problem. This is hindering the industry’s ability to understand the implications of mergers and acquisitions between online gambling companies who trade or have traded in the US market”.  

FURTHER INFORMATION:

888.com has had a chequered history with both online gamblers and affiliate marketers and currently no sites operated by 888.com are rated or recommended by specialist online gambling site testers, CasinoLabRat.com, PokerLabRat.com and BookieLabRat.com.

Ladbrokes operations however are well regarded. Ladbrokes has a significant UK and European online poker presence (LadbrokesPoker.com) and operates a Microgaming-based online casino (LadbrokesCasino.com) from it’s Gibraltar base. Ladbrokes is also a top UK bookmaker (Ladbrokes.com).

Detailed independent reviews of these Ladbrokes gambling sites can be found via the following links: >>Ladbrokes Bookmaker Review >>Ladbrokes Poker Room Review >>Ladbrokes Casino Review …