Despite a large drop in revenue following the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), Party Gaming continues to spend considerable revenue in order to expand its online gambling empire. Just this week, Party Gaming acquired two powerhouse gaming companies - Empire Online and Intercontinental Online Gaming (IOG) - for a combined price of $66.3 million. Gaming analysts are saying that such a bold move is indicative of mass consolidation within the online casino and internet gambling industry, for both IOG and Empire had also turned away from the U.S. market shortly after the passing of the UIGEA.

A Party Gaming spokesperson said the acquisitions were obtained via a share agreement, that include a $10 million share incentive plan with Empire employees, who will now be joining Party Gaming's staff members. Party Gaming's CEO, Mitch Garber said the acquisitions are in line with their overall strategy, and will certainly pan out to be a worthy investment for shareholders. Party Gaming expects to earn combined profits of at least $8.5 million from the two online gaming groups in 2007.

Indeed, the acquisitions will serve as an excellent opportunity for Party Gaming to cross promote and market all of their gaming properties. Several well-known online casinos and poker sites came with the acquisition, including Casino Las Vegas and Casino King, ala Intercontinental Online Gaming, as well as Noble Poker and Club Dice Casino ala Empire Online. The extensive, current player bases from these sites will undoubtedly continue generating revenue, while increased exposure to non-U.S. gambling markets will hopefully keep pace with targeted earnings.

As for Playtech Software, who powers all of IOG's online casinos, they are expected to be approached by Party Gaming very soon. Their fate remains uncertain at this point, for Party Gaming has rights to their very own proprietary software, which although many online gamblers would say is not up to par with the graphics of Playtech, Party Gaming could opt to ditch Playtech and use their own software. Pending the integration logistics of a conversion, as well as Party Gaming's possible demands for keeping a licensing agreement with Playtech, anything could happen.