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According to reports, and following the lead of a number of online gambling executives over the past few years, former PartyGaming founder and director Anurag Dikshit, who holds a 27 percent stake in the company, has or will plead guilty for charges related to the accepting of online gambling wagers.
"PartyGaming Plc’s founder and former director, Anurag Dikshit, pleaded guilty to illegal Internet gambling and agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Justice Department in an investigation of the Web-based gaming company," a report in Bloomberg said.
Dikshit will also reportedly also hand over $300 million as well, $100 million of which has already been paid, according to the eGaming Review with another $100 million due in three months and the final $100 million due either on September 30, 2009 or on December 16, 2010.
Dikshit's plea is in stark contrast to former business partners and husband and wife couple, Russ DeLeon and Ruth Parasol, who don't seem so keen on settling with the United States' Department of Justice—DeLeon and Parasol each hold a 14 percent stake in the company.
The Financial Times reported that Dikshit appeared before a court in New York today and issued the following statement:
"Between 1999 and 2006 I was a major shareholder and director of PartyGaming, a company that offers casino and party games over the internet. I developed the software platform. I was aware that wagers transmitted by wire were being placed by PartyGaming customers in the U.S. and that a substantial number of PartyGaming customers were in the U.S. and Manhattan. I knew that it violated U.S. and state laws from 2005 to 2006. I came to believe there was a high probability that the company’s business was illegal under U.S. laws. I acknowledge my actions and have come to believe that what I did was wrong."
When queried by the judge regarding if he knowingly violated the U.S. Wire Act by offering online gambling services (according to the U.S. Department of Justice), Dikshit responded, "My understanding was that the laws changed over time and by the end I realized that what I was doing was wrong."
In response to the report PartyGaming issued the following statement:
PartyGaming notes the story published in today’s Financial Times regarding an agreement reached between the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (the “DoJ”) and Anurag Dikshit, one of the Company’s founder shareholders.
As PartyGaming stated in its announcement on 4 June 2007, the Company initiated discussions with the DoJ with the aim of removing any uncertainty regarding the Company’s legal status in the United States in respect of the period prior to the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act on 13 October 2006, when the Company allowed customers in the U.S. to play or make deposits on the group’s real money sites. The Company cannot comment on the accuracy of the report in today’s Financial Times concerning developments involving Mr. Dikshit, but any such developments are completely independent from those of the Company and as such should not be seen as bearing any guidance to the nature of the Company’s own discussions.
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.
However, on the basis of the discussions to-date, PartyGaming expects any settlement with the DoJ to involve a payment by the Company of an amount that is significantly lower than that reported to be paid by Mr. Dikshit in today’s Financial Times. In addition, the Company believes that any such settlement is unlikely to include a criminal plea on the part of the Company or any director.
A further announcement will be made in due course once the settlement negotiation has concluded.
Earlier in the day, the Associated Press also reported that Dikshit would probably not issue a criminal plea.
The eGaming Review reports that Dikshit posted bail on "a US$15m personal recognisance bond" with travel limited to Gibraltar, New York and possibly India and EU nations.
He will be sentenced on December 16, 2010 and the Financial Times reports that the two years between hearing and sentencing will show that he is cooperating with U.S. officials and could prevent jail time.
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