Bwin.party founders to sell - 4th November 2013

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Two of the founders of bwin.party are to sell their shares in the company to avoid the scrutiny of a New Jersey licence application as they undergo divorce proceedings.

Ruth Parasol and Russ Deleon are set to put their stakes of around seven per cent each into trusts to be sold over the course of three years. Analysts said the duo’s combined shares are worth more than £140m.

Bwin.party said: “As part of the application process, certain substantial shareholders of bwin.party are required to submit individual licence applications to the DGE [New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement] or otherwise dispose of their shareholdings.”

House broker Numis said it was unlikely the disposal would have been “executed so near to the start of online gambling in New Jersey if bwin.party were not likely to get permission to participate.”

Parasol and DeLeon, both from California, set up PartyGaming in 1997 and the company merged with Austrian business bwin Interactive in 2011.