At one point in time, it seemed imminent that Party Gaming would be there to either buy out Empire Online or to work out some sort of deal with their long-time affiliate to save it from the mire of lost online business and revenue.  However, it is now official that talks between the two online betting sites have dissolved - And Empire Online is not taking it lightly in the least bit.

Empire has now voiced intentions to take legal action against Party Gaming, which many online gamblers and betting site operators are saying rightly so, for it does indeed seem like Party Gaming has been using some bully tactics to not only bring Empire Online down, but to monopolize the online poker and betting industry in general.

According to Empire Online, the company has reports to show that Party Gaming had valued Empire's share values to be approximately 135 pence, which gave a total company value at £400 million.  Before this offer, the online betting site, Sportingbet.com, valued Empire at nearly £790 million and 270 pence per share.  If Party Gaming's first offer was not cheap enough, the company denied offering it in the first place, and said they had valued Empire at only 60 pence per share.

Whether that is true or not, most big-name online betting and poker sites are doing just fine these days - and Empire Online is no exception to the rule.  Although there were no details released on how Empire would be going about bringing legal action against Party Gaming, a company spokesperson did say they would not be pursuing the issue lightly.