PartyGaming Founder To Pay $300 Million Penalty.

Anurag Dikshit, the co-founder of PartyGaming, has been agreed to pay $300 million to United States authorities after agreeing to plead guilty to an illegal internet betting charge in which he was arrested for by U.S. Department of Justice officials a little over 2 years ago.

PartyGaming is a UK-listed online gambling company where Dikshit owns 27 percent of its shares. Dikshit will be appearing in the Southern District Court in New York to plead guilty to breaking a law under the Wire Act - which forbids any offshore company from taking U.S. wagers across state lines. Dikshit is expected to co-operate with the United States Department of Justice.

Since Dikshit went to authorities on his own accord he is hoping that the Department of Justice will be lien ant and not ask for jail time. With the current charges against him, Dikshit could face two years in jail as no plea bargain was agreed upon.

This a giant step in online gambling as many will be waiting to see what is done to Dikshit and what the Department of Justice recommends be done. Those interested in running online gambling businesses such as Party’s or sites such as Players Only Poker in the United States will have an idea of what might happen if they pursue the market.

PartyGaming’s other co-founders, Russ DeLeon and his wife Ruth Parasol, own fourteen percent of the company and have yet came forward to settle. PartyGaming was very successful over the past three years in online poker and the company has been negotiating with the Department of Justice for some time now, along with other online companies.

Insiders say that DeLeon and Parasol believe the new administration for the White House will possibly regulate online gambling so they are holding out on that hope. Others say the Dikshit could not take the pressure anymore and wanted to be done with the matter even if he is forced to go to jail.

PartyGaming sent a statement to the stock exchange earlier this week that read:

“The Company’s discussions with the DoJ have made good progress and it is currently negotiating the final terms of a possible settlement with the DoJ”

“Whilst these discussions are at an advanced stage, the terms of any settlement have not yet been finalized and there can be no guarantee that an agreement will be reached between the company and the DoJ.”