Stars welcomes US players

[2Tone]

But there were clear signs of private companies doing the opposite. PokerStars, which has been PartyGaming’s main US rival, took a pass on the legislation and said it would carry on trading there – much to the evident fury of Mitch Garber, PartyGaming’s chief executive.

“It’s very brave for private operators not to think they will be pursued,” he told the conference. “People are way overconfident about their ability to integrate the law.”

What they should do, he urged, is share the legal and lobbying load with the listed sector. Public companies like PartyGaming had built this industry, he said. They had fought off past anti-gambling moves on the sector and had “financed everybody in the industry until today”, said Mr Garber. “Now we all have to take responsibility.”

He warned he would compete “very aggressively” with private companies – before admitting that he didn’t know how.