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PartyGaming has confirmed it will buy the gaming assets of rival firm Empire Online for £19.2 million, in a deal that will see the company take charge of sites such as Noble Poker and Club Dice Casino.

Empire stated that the recent crackdown on internet gaming in the US (UIGEA), where most of its business was based, had made it impossible for it to stay independent. Earlier this week, the company’s major shareholder Noam Lanir sold his remaining shares to PartyGaming for $40 million.

PartyGaming has also announced that it is acquiring the gaming assets of Intercontinental Online for around £14 million, and expects both deals to boost earnings by more than £4 million.

“These acquisitions represent excellent value for our shareholders and are consistent with our strategy,” said PartyGaming chief executive Mitch Garber. “The addition of a number of well-known secondary brands will provide opportunities for cross-promotion, increasing customer choice and satisfaction and maximising the long term value of current and future players.”

PartyGaming bosses can also look forward to a £42 million windfall after the company restructured its management incentive schemes to open up tens of millions of new share options.

Russian MPs have passed a law to drive casinos and slot machines out of Moscow and other cities, where they have proliferated in recent years. The law was passed overwhelmingly by the lower house on Wednesday. It had been proposed by President Vladimir Putin in October.

By July 2009 gambling will have to be concentrated in four regions far from Moscow, the law says. It also bans gambling on the internet and at airports, supermarkets and other sites.

Russian gamblers will be restricted to the Kaliningrad region by the Baltic Sea, the Primorye region in the Far East, Altai in Siberia and an area in the south spanning the Rostov and Krasnodar regions.

The law also states that casinos must have a floor space of at least 800 sq m (8,611 sq ft). Halls with gaming machines must have at least 50 machines and a floor space of at least 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft).Any gambling sites infringing the new rules will face closure from 1 July 2007.

Slot machines are currently found in various locations across Russia, including airports, supermarkets and apartment building lobbies.