partygamingOn gaming group PartyGaming reported a 57 percent plunge in annual pretax profit on Thursday as an effective ban on Internet gambling in the UnitedPartyGaming 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 lobalMedia, which then changed its name to PartyGaming. PartyGaming's flagship site, , was launched in 2001. Its primary shareholders were Parasol, Group Operations Director Anurag Dikshit, Marketing Director Vikrant Bhargava (who joined the company in 1998 a…