Reuters news agency said PartyGaming’s 2009 agreement with US authorities, which protects it from prosecution over its past activities there, would ease the way for the Gibraltar-based firm to return to the American market and clear the path for it to pursue merger and acquisition activities.

The agency quoted PartyGaming Chief Executive Officer Jim Ryan as saying: “We are certainly in discussions with a few parties on a number of different opportunities. There is a list of suspects who one would expect us to be talking to given that our focus is consolidating the online gaming sector.

“We are talking to a number of US entities about doing business with them when the US market regulates. It's positioned us for growth from a mergers and acquisitions perspective and, from an operational perspective, I think it's our ticket back into the United States.”

Ryan stressed that talks were preliminary and declined to comment on the identity or size of the companies. PartyGaming’s online operations include leading poker domain PartyPoker.com and popular bingo sites FoxyBingo.com, MirrorBingo.com, ThinkBingo.com and CheekyBingo.com. The company said its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation for 2009 were $135 million, less than 2008’s $144.2 million but “slightly ahead of market expectations.”

Ryan said he had been encouraged by US Congressmen Barney Frank and Jim McDermott, who want to overturn the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The two say this would generate tax revenues of about $42 billion over 10 years.

PartyGaming’s agreement with AB Groupe will see the companies create a new online casino branded under the LuckyJeux moniker that will join PartyGaming’s Frenchpoker network, which is also set to include PartyPoker.fr. PartyGaming said its network would see French players benefit from a shared player liquidity pool operating on a single platform.