The US Congress approved a bill that would make it illegal for banks and credit-card companies to make payments to online gambling sites. Shares in the betting companies fell over 50 per cent on the news.
PartyGaming generates about 78 per cent of its revenue from the United States, while Sportingbet generates about 62 per cent from the US. The bill will now go to President George W. Bush to sign into law and he is expected to approve the bill.
The move will have a huge impact on the long-term prospects of online gambling and analysts expect it to lead to a massive and rapid decline in the use of the sites.
