Company shut down U.S. operations following federal legislation
FRANKFORT, Ky. (June 28, 2013) — Kentucky has reached a compromise with an online gaming company resulting in a $15 million settlement to recover online gambling losses by Kentucky residents, Gov. Steve Beshear said Friday.
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Prior to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, the federal law, which prohibited gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in a bet or wager involving the internet, internet gaming company bwin.party, then known as PartyGaming, believed its operations were consistent with U.S. law. As a result of UIGEA, bwin.party voluntarily shut down its U.S.-facing activities.
Kentucky filed a civil action against bwin.party in August 2010, and earlier this month, the commonwealth reached an agreement with the online gaming company to settle its claims for $15 million.
“I’m pleased that we were able to recover losses on behalf of Kentuckians,” Beshear said. “bwin.party is making every effort to comply with the laws of the United States and demonstrate that they want to be known for their integrity and honesty in this industry.”
Neither bwin.party nor its predecessor was named in a 2008 Kentucky lawsuit against 141 Iinternet domain names.
The payment is the second online gaming-related settlement received by Kentucky this month. Last week, Beshear announced that Kentucky would receive $6 million in a settlement of unrelated federal court actions in New York and Maryland.
Secretary of Justice and Public Safety J. Michael Brown, who filed the suit on behalf of the commonwealth, said Kentucky will continue to pursue action against Internet gaming companies identified in its pending lawsuits, which include PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
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