Vikrant Bhargava (विक्रान्त भार्गव; born 14 December 1972)
is an Indian-born British businessman, and the co-founder and former marketing director of
online casino
Online casinos, also known as virtual casinos or Internet casinos, are online versions of traditional ("brick and mortar") casinos. Online casinos enable gamblers to play and wager on casino games through the Internet. It is a prolific form of ...
operator
PartyGaming
PartyGaming plc was a network of gambling sites operated by Ruth Parasol in the Caribbean. Founded in 1997, the network eventually operated under an umbrella company called iGlobalMedia, which then changed its name to PartyGaming. PartyGaming's fl ...
.
Early life and education
Bhargava was born on 14 December 1972 in Jaipur, India,
and raised in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
.
He holds a bachelor's degree in Technology in electrical engineering from
IIT Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT- Delhi) is a public institute of technology located in Delhi, India. It is one of the 23 Indian Institutes of Technology created to be a Centre of Excellence for India's training, research and developme ...
, where he met his future business partner
Anurag Dikshit
Anurag Dikshit (; born 1973) is an Indian businessman. In 2006 Dikshit became head of the online poker company PartyGaming's research and special projects.
By 2009, ''Forbes'' described him as a billionaire. In connection with PartyGaming, in ...
.
He also studied at the
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta.
Career
Prior to joining PartyGaming, Bhargava was a credit officer at
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
, responsible for managing credit exposure and revenue for corporate clients, and a business analyst in the business development division of
British Gas
British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...
.
Bhargava joined
PartyGaming
PartyGaming plc was a network of gambling sites operated by Ruth Parasol in the Caribbean. Founded in 1997, the network eventually operated under an umbrella company called iGlobalMedia, which then changed its name to PartyGaming. PartyGaming's fl ...
(formerly iGlobalMedia) as marketing director in early 2000.
In July 2001, he oversaw the marketing for the launch of PartyPoker, as well as for
Partygaming
PartyGaming plc was a network of gambling sites operated by Ruth Parasol in the Caribbean. Founded in 1997, the network eventually operated under an umbrella company called iGlobalMedia, which then changed its name to PartyGaming. PartyGaming's fl ...
when it went public in 2005,
at the time the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
's largest IPO of an internet company, valued at over $8.5 billion.
In 2005, he owned 15% of PartyGaming, estimated at £450 million.
In May 2006, Bhargava announced he would leave the company's board of directors at the end of the year. He also stepped down from his executive role in the company. Quoted in ''
eGaming Review
''egaming review '' and ''EGRmagazine.com'' are related online gambling
Online gambling (also known as iGaming or iGambling) is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos, and sports betting. The f ...
'', John Shepherd, director of PartyGaming corporate communications, credited Bhargava with transforming PartyGaming into a multi-billion pound company. When he left PartyGaming, Bhargava's fortune was estimated to be £850 million.
($1.6 billion at that time)
Bhargava later became the head of a private investment company, Veddis Ventures, registered in
Gibraltar
Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
.
According to the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
, Bhargava has donated around £200,000 to the
Conservative Party via two of his companies, Stellite Finance and Aria Properties.
Personal life
He married his wife in 2005, and they have two children.
See also
*
List of IIT Delhi people
This is a list of people affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, one of the Indian Institutes of Technology in India.
Notable alumni
Business
Politics and law
Philosophy and Spirituality
Science and technology
...
References
External links
The Hindu Business Line article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhargava, Vikrant
1972 births
Living people
Businesspeople from London
British people of Indian descent
IIT Delhi alumni
Indian Institute of Management Calcutta alumni
People from Jaipur
British company founders