PartyGaming Co-Founder Dikshit Avoids Jail

The co-founder of online gambling company PartyGaming was sentenced on Thursday to one year of probation and no time in jail in a verdict that will undoubtedly cause further confusion over the application of US online poker laws.

No Jail Time

Anurag Dikshit, an Indian national and former billionaire had travelled from the British territory of Gibraltar to New York on a one-way ticket to attend his sentence hearing last Thursday, which carried a maximum possible punishment of two years in jail.

US District Judge Jed Rakoff said in handing down the sentence that he was "persuaded that no jail time is appropriate here."

Dikshit, 39, pleaded guilty in 2008 to one count of violating the US Federal Wire Act, by using wires to transmit bets and wagering information in interstate commerce.

He also agreed at the time to forfeit $300 million and to cooperate with prosecutors in return that they would request lenience from the judge.

PartyGaming

PartyGaming, registered in Gibraltar, was founded in 1997 and was once the world's largest online poker brand, in addition to offering casino and other services. Its market share has dropped since the legal problems in the US, but it still has one of the biggest online poker rooms in the world.