PartyGaming Slides Under Shadow Of New Regulation

Partygaming, the company behind Party Poker, fell nearly 6 per cent as the spectre of a British government clampdown on online gaming encouraged profit-taking after last week's strong fourth-quarter revenue numbers from the Online Poker website operator.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Richard Caborn, the minister responsible for gambling, raised the possibility of international restrictions to protect internet gamblers.

Mr Caborn said that Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, would be inviting her foreign counterparts "to see whether we can look at some international regulation whereby we can look at these issues of problem gambling on the internet".

He said that his department planned to involve credit card issuers in discussions.

That prospect pulled Party Gaming 8¼p lower at 132¾p, with its mid-cap rival 888 Holdings off 11p at 209p. However, analysts pointed out that, as both companies derived a significant proportion of their business from America, where internet gambling is deemed to be illegal, the impact of any such moves would be limited.