Gambling Enforcement Act into law, Excapsa Software sold its entire operation to Blast Off Ltd, a privately owned Maltese company, for a reported $130 million. Excapsa, parent company of Ultimate Bet.com, was one of the last publicly traded online gaming companies to divest itself of its US operations prior to the signing of the law.
Many had been puzzled by UltimateBet's recent affirmation that they would continue to support US online customers, wondering how Excapsa would traverse the regulatory terrain as a public company. The mystery is now solved. UtlimateBet will continue to service US customers, but under its new private enterprise.
Publicly traded companies are commonly prohibited by their listing regulations from knowingly violating any law where they operate. Regulatory issues, as well as the added potential shareholder liability, seemed to be the tipping point for online gaming companies contemplating tangling with the US's new legal environment.