Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Patrick Partouche, the head of French company Groupe Partouche, has been
handed a 40,000 Euro fine and a 12 month suspended prison sentence.
Partouche's punishment relates to his involvement with online poker site
Poker770. France appears to be following in the footsteps of America by
cracking down on online gambling and poker. Patrick Partouche and Partouche
International were handed stiff penalties for their respective involvements
in online poker room Poker770 last Friday. Partouche International, a
subsidiary of the group based in Belgium, was fined 150,000 Euro for
targeting French players for their online gaming activities. Partouche
himself will be facing 12 months in prison should he be found guilty of a
further crime in the near future. His penalty was a 40,000 Euro fine and a
12 month suspended prison sentence. According to French media sources, two
further individuals were also fined 40,000 Euro and handed suspended prison
sentences by a court in Nanterre, Paris. All the individuals involved have
lodged appeals. Last year Bwin officials were arrested in France.
Authorities have requested interviews with other gambling companies based
outside of the country. Poker770 operate on the iPoker network. One of the
most popular networks around, iPoker have reported player numbers of 12,000
or more to be using their software at any one time. Groupe Partouche owns
over fifty land based casinos alongside their online company Partouche
Interactive. Poker770 is managed by a Cyprus registered firm called
Chicoutimi Management Limited for Partouche.