Bwin.party digital, the world's biggest listed online gaming company, said it had seen an uplift in new players on its poker sites following moves in the United States to close down illegal operators.

Bwin.party, formed by the merger of Austria's Bwin and PartyGaming in March, said it had seen a 33 per cent increase in average daily new player sign-ups for poker in the last two weeks of April when compared with the previous two-week period.

"Following steps taken by the U.S. government to enforce its laws, we have seen an uplift in new player sign-ups on our poker sites despite the impact of seasonality. While this represents only a short trading period, it is nonetheless encouraging," chief executive Jim Ryan said.

The Gibraltar-based firm, whose brands include bwin, PartyPoker.com, PartyCasino.com and Foxy Bingo, said total net revenue grew by 2 per cent to €217.8 million in the first quarter.

Rival 888 and gaming software company Playtech both reported increased first quarter revenue in April.

Shares in bwin.party have risen by nearly a quarter since the middle of April following a decision by the US to shut down poker websites PokerStarts, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker following charges of illegal gambling, reducing competition for European operators.

PokerStars and Full Tilt have since been allowed to reopen their websites but have agreed not to allow poker play in the US for money.

The US facing sites had been able to attract more players than their European counterparts because they continued to take bets from US players, in contravention of 2006 legislation outlawing the industry. The greater liquidity meant higher prizes were on offer in their poker games.

Bwin.party shares had lost nearly 40 per cent of their value prior to the US development on concerns that new regulations in one of its biggest markets, Germany, could make it unviable for the company to continue there.

They closed yesterday at 150 pence, valuing the business at £1.3 billion.

Reuters