According to the Times Online, online giants PartyGaming and Bwin are in talks about a merger. Jim Ryan, the chief executive of PartyGaming, is expected to be asked by the Takeover Panel to clarify the position before the Monday morning when the market opens. The total market value of the two online giants was over two billion pounds when the marked closed last Friday.

Both parties have been involved in on-off merger talks since last summer, but both PartyGaming and Bwin have been involved in many merger rumours over the years. One of the Times Online's sources said that the deal is far from done, and there is no certainty that the deal will be agreed. “Everyone in the industry is talking to everybody else," the source told Times Online.

If the rumours are to become reality, the new gambling giant would change the balance of the online gaming sector.

Source: Times Online