Offloaded -- The Times reports that one unidentified shareholder in London-listed PartyGaming on Monday offloaded 123 million shares worth an estimated £50 million ($98.2 million). The anonymous seller is thought to be Bermuda-based fund Orbis, the paper said, which in January was rumored to have purchased stock from Party founder Vikrant Bhargava. The sale undercut early gains on optimism that the company's full year financials, scheduled for release on March 1, will exceed market expectations. Shares closed yesterday at 39.75p.
Closed -- Online operator VIP.com said on Monday that it will no longer accept new customers from North America, although existing customers may continue using the service as before. CEO Alistair Assheton said that the change in policy would result in cuts of "well over 100 regular staff" from its Curacao offices. Assheton told IGN that the company has not released an "industry press statement," but that the facts reported on Gambling911.com and in other news sources regarding its North American operations are "fairly solid."
Inked -- Mobile gaming and content provider Mobenga has inked an agreement for "full mobile services" with Baltic states-focused operator Triobet. "Triobet is a very interesting company, being owned by the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian football federations, this gives Triobet great potential and advantage in the Baltic market," said Mobenga CEO Christian Rajter.
French Oddities -- Various news sources are reporting that PartyGaming last week announced it will no longer offer new, real-money accounts to France-based players. Existing customers, though, will be able to continue using its services. The announcement follows the cancellation of the European Poker Tour's French Open event last month, of which PokerStars was the official sponsor.
Stock Watch -- Shares in Austria-based operator bwin on Monday jumped 2.57 euros (10.28 percent) on the ATX. Observers speculated that an imminent decision by the European Court of Justice regarding the free movement of sports betting services in the EU--scheduled for March 2006--strengthened bwin's share price. Shares in 888, meanwhile, dropped 10.25p (9.32 percent) today on the LSE to close at 99.75.