Ironically, just prior to the landmark legislation passed by Congress in early October to stem gambling over the Internet, Online Gambling was the top gaining category in September, posting a 17-percent gain versus August. Leading the category was embattled PartyGaming with 10.9 million U.S. visitors, a 75-percent increase, followed by SportingBet PLC, the second-biggest gaining Web property during the month with 5.4 million U.S. visitors (up 194 percent).
Indeed, in addition to placing bets, Americans also checked out sports Web sites in September, triggering a 7-percent increase to the sports category overall. Leading the category was ESPN with 20.4 million visitors, a 14-percent increase versus August, followed by Yahoo! Sports with 17.5 million visitors (up 27 percent) and FOX Sports on MSN with 16.5 million visitors (up 25 percent)….