PartyGaming, an Internet gambling site that operates such sites as PartyBingo, PartyPoker, and Starluck Casino, has filed to go public on the London Stock Exchange. The filing could very well be for one of the largest public offerings in the recent history of the London Stock Exchange.

PartyGaming, which makes its home in Gibraltar, intends to float by the end of June of this year amid predictions that the flotation could place the value of the company between eight to eleven billion dollars. This would make PartyGaming one of the largest publicly traded concerns in the United Kingdom. Approximately 23% of the shares that will go up for sale will have belonged to PartyGaming shareholders.

PartyGaming attracts players from all over the world to its Internet gambling website, including citizens of the United States where PartyPoker is immensely popular. Its popularity in the U.S., however, is in direct conflict with the U.S. Government’s policy on Internet gambling, which it staunchly prohibits. The U.S. prohibition on Internet gambling is not without opposition both nationally and internationally. Not long ago, the tiny island nation of Antigua, where many online gaming businesses are based, filed suit at the WTO against the U.S. for unfair trade practices. Antigua argued that U.S. policy against online gambling is biased because the U.S. does not outlaw domestic gambling businesses. The U.S. countered that it had the right to ban online gambling in order to uphold public order and public morale. The WTO’s initial ruling on the case and its subsequent appeals decision left the status of the U.S. position on Internet gambling unclear and allowed both countries to claim victory in the ruling. Although the ambiguity of the ruling may give rise for concern about the fate of the Internet gambling industry, most would argue that there is too much demand for Internet gambling and too much momentum behind the industry’s growth to stop its phenomenal expansion. Javad Heydary, a Toronto-based lawyer and the managing editor of Laws of Dot Com, believes that, at some point, the U.S. will have to start regulating Internet gambling businesses explicitly and allow them to operate under strict rules and conditions, just as the U.K. has done, instead of just banning the industry outright.

As for PartyGaming, their financial statistics look very promising. Of the year 2004, the company said its revenues were for $601 million, nearly five times what it was in 2003. Also, PartyGaming posted a net income of $350 million in 2004, up fourfold over earlier levels. Finally, in just the first quarter of 2004, sales were at $222 million, nearly double what they were in 2004.

In fact, the picture looks quite rosy for the Internet gambling industry in general. Christian Capital Advisors, a gambling consultant company, has estimated that the online gaming market will at least double in the next five years, growing from $11.9 billion this year to $24 billion by 2010. This is similar to the incredible growth experienced by traditional e-commerce in its earliest days.