Bwin.party in $15m Kentucky settlement
State also names PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker as companies with "impending lawsuits" relating to post-UIGEA activities
Bwin.party has completed a US$15m settlement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky relating to its activities prior to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) came into force.
Kentucky filed a case against bwin.party in August 2010 relating to the recovery of “online gambling losses” incurred by residents prior to the operator pulling out of the US market in October 2006 immediately after UIGEA was passed into law.
The operator said the settlement resolves the only remaining litigation relating to pre-UIGEA activities, and that no admission to wrongdoing was made as part of it.
“The agreement also makes clear that it does not prevent or limit bwin.party from offering internet gaming to Kentucky residents in the future, if lawful and licensed there,” John Shepherd, director of corporate communications at bwin.party, said.
Meanwhile Kentucky’s secretary of the justice and public safety cabinet Michael Brown, said the state will continue to pursue action against internet gaming companies identified in its pending lawsuits, which “include PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker”.
The state named PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker as among those it will “continue to pursue” action against for taking bets from its residents until they were forced to shut down their US-facing sites in April 2011.
PokerStars was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.