US Gambling Operators Interest in Playtech

The CEO of Playtech, one of the world's leading gambling software providers, has said in an interview that his company is receiving increasing interest from gambling operators in the United States as the country heads toward online gambling regulation.

"The timing is not clear but we see a genuine and positive momentum," Mor Weizer said in the interview with Dow Jones Newswires published Thursday. "We see a lot of interest from operators in the US and we are in discussions with various local groups.

The US House Financial Services Committee approved in July HR 2267, the Internet Gambling Regulation, Consumer Protection, and Enforcement Act, which if passed by Congress would effectively legalize online gaming, overturning a 2006 law that banned gambling sites from accepting money from Americans.

The committee's decision sparked a rise in shares of the Playtech games provider, and other gambling companies, in the anticipation that they would all benefit once legalization is completed.

Weizer predicted in the Dow Jones interview that Playtech would benefit from its position as a software company, saying that it could form partnerships with local gambling operators.

"Local operators will dominate," he told the news agency. "The fact that we are a business to business company means we have a different approach to operators, we will not compete with them," he said.

Weizer added that it was difficult to predict when the reforms would be completed, but said the company was in a good position to take advantage of the regulation when it finally goes ahead.