Harrah's mulls online poker site in UK

Casino giant Harrah's Entertainment Inc.'s chief executive said Wednesday he's looking at taking the World Series of Poker brand into the realm of Internet poker in the U.K. and continental Europe.

Gary Loveman made the comment at the Global Gaming Expo, the largest trade show of the year for the North American casino industry.

Banks and payment processors are prohibited from handling cash transactions from U.S.-based players to and from online poker sites under legislation President Bush signed into law last year. But Internet gambling businesses are treated differently around the world.

"If you take a look at the legal landscape in continental Europe and the United Kingdom, there are countries where it's demonstrably legal and there's absolutely no encumbrance," Loveman said. "Those are areas that are very attractive to us."

Tournament spokesman Gary Thompson said Harrah's is studying the market and legal conditions before deciding whether to continue. It would not enter the online poker market "where there are any gray areas," he said.

Harrah's bought the rights to the World Series of Poker in 2004, and it is the game's pinnacle event of the year. But attendance this year was hurt because many online poker sites didn't give out prize packages to U.S. residents awarding them seats in the main event that cost $10,000 each.

News Added: 15 November, 2007

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