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Party Poker Cofounder to Plead Guilty, Pay $300m Fine

by , Dec 15, 2008 | 5:46 pm

Comments (16)

Online poker software creator Anurag Dikshit agrees to pay off the US gov for his “crimes”.

From the Financial Times: Party Poker co-founder Anurag Dikshit will appear in the Southern District Court of New York Tuesday to plead guilty to violating the Wire Act, pay a $300,000,000 fine and cooperate with the Department of Justice in the hopes of avoiding a 2-year jail sentence.

Dikshit currently owns 27% of Party Gaming, but it appears he won’t have to divest his holdings in Party after pleading guilty. Ruth Parasol and Russ DeLeon, who also co-founded Party Poker, don’t appear to be near any type of settlement with the US government. Party Gaming has been negotiating with the Department of Justice for some time now; could this mean their eventual return to the US if and when Internet gaming is regulated?

More on this developing story later…

UPDATE: Party Gaming has released their own press release stating that they are still in final negotiations with the US Dept. of Justice in terms of a settlement, and that they will pay a substantially lower amount to the US government than Dikshit. At the time of this update, they’re up over 25% in trading today.

5pm UPDATE: Dikshit has entered his plea, and is free on a $15m bond, which limits him to travel within the European Union, India and New York. He has also already paid $100,000,000 with another payment due in 3 months, and the rest by September. Also, he’s scheduled for sentencing December 16, 2010. Further details here.


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16 Comments to “Party Poker Cofounder to Plead Guilty, Pay $300m Fine”


  1. Ben Matlock     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 6:02pm

    $300,000,000???????


  2. DanM     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 6:12pm

    Shakedown.

    They might as well call it a licensing pre-application fee.


  3. Kevin Mathers     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 6:17pm

    It surely is, but if it takes “only” $300m to be legitimate, I’m sure there’ll be plenty of sites who’ll gladly pay.


  4. DanM     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 6:19pm

    And plenty who can’t afford to.


  5. Kevin Mathers     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 6:21pm

    That’s when you get the B&M casinos to come in and consolidate the market.


  6. DanM     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 7:13pm

    Hmm, very interesting. I think you are on to something. Party’s stock ain’t exactly expensive these days either.


  7. DanM     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 7:16pm

    I’m curious where they come up with that number, though. I have a feeling it’s pretty close to what Dikshit woulda had to pay in some capacity in American taxes had he made that money in a regulated US environ.


  8. Kevin Mathers     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 8:06pm

    You’re probably right on why it’s that much Dan. Expect their stock to rise again tomorrow morning, which helps his bottom line as well.


  9. DanM     says:
    December 15th, 2008 at 10:37pm

    One of the things I just found interesting about the link in your comment — the value of the US dollar seems to be rising against the British pound.

    I’ve always thought of it as 2:1, but apparently it’s now 3:2.


  10. Bill Reynolds     says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 8:10am

    Come on, that’s a made-up name. “Dikshit”? No Way.


  11. DanM     says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 9:40am

    Can you imagine what it must be like to be the kid who grew up being made fun of for his last name, suddenly having a couple billion dollars?


  12. DanM     says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 10:14am

    Thanks for the update, Kev. I’m certainly happy, as a PartyPoker stock owner. And the word that a settlement with the company is pending makes me think they are due for another spike.

    (But note: I am a total stock donkey — so take that assessment with many many grains of salt.)


  13. Aaron A.     says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 12:22pm

    Crap Bill!! I was just about to say that. Dik Shit haha.


  14. DanM     says:
    December 16th, 2008 at 2:39pm

    Re: 5 pm update

    “I came to believe there was a high probability it was in violation of U.S. laws,” Dikshit, a citizen of India who lives in Gibraltar and Britain, told the court. “I understand that what I did was wrong.”

    He was released on a $15 million personal recognizance bond and under the plea deal his travel is restricted to the European Union, India and New York.

    Damn, I think it’s strange that a United States court can put restrictions on an Indian passport.


  15. Poker Shrink     says:
    December 17th, 2008 at 1:50pm

    Less we forget, the other two major stockholders and original owners of Party Poker are not settling a similar claim with the US government. Unlikely there will be any Party presence in the US until all claims are settled.


  16. DanM     says:
    December 17th, 2008 at 2:54pm

    So Anurag just has some shit going on where he needs to clear this off his plate … or maybe travel to the US?