In January 2006 speculation began to mount surrounding the future of online poker site Poker Stars. The rumors began when the firm took on London stock broking firm NM Rothschild to guide its decision on whether or not the firm should follow the lead of fellow poker operator Party Gaming and list its stock on the London Stock Exchange.

According to industry analysts, a public listing could increase the firm’s value to approximately US$2.5 billion to US$3 billion, setting Poker Stars on a par with main competitors 888 Holdings and Party Gaming. Poker Stars is currently recording profits of US$200 million per annum. The firm’s principal shareholders are the Scheinberg family from Israel, who own 75 percent of the company. The remainder of the shares is owned by Poker Stars’ employees.

Online gaming firms continue to draw investor awareness on both the London Stock Exchange and the London Alternative Investment Market in 2006. Full Tilt Poker is said to be in talks with brokers and the imminent floatation of software firm Playtech is already generating record interest.
While prospects for the gaming industry look mostly positive, current attempts to introduce further legislation in the U.S. Senate to ban online gaming could affect share prices. However, the common consensus is that a total gaming ban is unlikely given the increasing numbers of Americans gambling at online casinos, The industry as a whole also reaped over $10 billion dollars in revenues last year and shows little signs of slowing down.

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