For months, talks of a Bwin/PartyGaming merger have been going on, but no real progress has been made. That is, until late last week when the Gibraltar Supreme Court endorsed the deal between the two online gambling giants.
In July 2010, Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, the gambling company, and PartyGaming announced they would be merging to form the largest online gambling site in the world.
PartyGaming, located in Gibraltar, was founded in 1997 and is best known for owning Party Poker, its online gaming room. Before the UIGEA went into effect, Party Poker was by far the largest poker room in the world, as far as number of players. It has since withdrawn from the United States, but remains one the of the largest.
bwin Interactive Entertainment AG is an Austrian based online gambling company. While it hold regional licenses in many countries, it is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
The new company would be located in Gibraltar and be listed on the London Stock Exchange and plans to go by the name Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment plc, with current PartyGaming owners having a 48.4% share in ownership and current bwin shareholders having a 51.6% share in ownership.
Because of the endorsement last week, the companies are expected to complete the merger this Thursday.