Sportingbet
Sportingbet is a British e-gaming operator, owned by GVC Holdings plc. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index prior to its acquisition by GVC.
History
The Company was founded by Mark Blandford in 1997. Sportingbet acquired Paradise Poker in October 2004. On 7 September 2006 SportingBet reported that its then chairman, Peter Dicks, was detained in New York City on a Louisiana warrant while traveling in the United States on business unrelated to online gaming. Louisiana is one of the few states that has a specific law prohibiting gambling online. In March 2007, all Louisiana warrants involving the company were cancelled.
In October 2006, Sportingbet announced Paradise Poker would stop taking deposits from US customers, although most would be allowed to continue to play for another month. Additionally, Sportingbet sold all its US-facing sportsbetting and casino businesses, including Sportsbook.com and Sports.com, to a group of private investors for $1, and an assumption of $13.2 million in debts.