Two of the founders of bwin.party Digital Entertainment would be exiting from their ownership stakes in the online gaming group. According to New Jersey's Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), the exit of James Russell DeLeon and Ruth Parasol DeLeon from bwin.party would happen should the two secure a New Jersey license for online gambling. New Jersey would be the third of the three US states who had allowed online gambling.

bwin.party said on Thursday that the DeLeons would be putting their combined ownership interest of 14.32% into a trust. The trust would be sold in the next three years, said the online gaming group.

Numis analysts said that bwin.party might have already set its sights in New Jersey to expand its business. "It seems unlikely to us that it 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," the analysts collectively said.

Bwin.party had filed an application for an operation license in New Jersey in July. The casino industry had seen New Jersey as a potentially lucrative market due to lax regulations and the size of the market.