The US ban on online gambling has cut profits at PartyGaming by more than half, the company has reported. 

Operating profits for the firm, which runs popular poker site PartyPoker.com as well as other gambling sites, dropped by 58 per cent for the year. 

PartyGaming made $137m (£71m) operating profits in the past year, despite an overall rise in the number of players and growth in non-US markets.

The number of players using PartyGaming sites rose by 163 per cent, reaching 749,000 compared with the previous year.

The majority of the company's revenue came from its poker business, with money from that operation rising 91 per cent to $266m (around £137).

However, poker only made up 82 per cent of the company's overall profits, compared with 2005 when it accounted for 91 per cent.

PartyGaming plans to expand further using additional currency options and by adding extra languages to its games, to grow the business in markets such as Asia.