Nevada, Delaware Strike Web Poker DealHistory Was Made For Fledgling U.S. Web Gaming Industry |
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History was made Tuesday, as governors for Nevada and Delaware signed a compact to share liquidity — and thus increase revenues — for real-money online poker play. It was the first deal of its kind in the United States for the commercial casino industry.
The deal was signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval and Gov. Jack Markell during a public press conference. Right now, Nevada has three online poker sites up and running, products from the WSOP (utilizing 888 software), Ultimate Poker and Real Gaming. Delaware’s casinos use software from 888. The poker site appears to be the big beneficiary from the news.
There is no date for when the player pools will be combined.
“The more people there are on a poker site at any given time, the more likely they will be able to find a table that fits their game style at a time that fits their schedule,” Markell said.
The compact allows for other states to eventually join Nevada and Delaware. The Silver State is widely considered to have the “gold standard” for gaming regulation. The deal also signals the creation of “The Multi State Internet Gaming Association.”
Under the deal, both states will keep revenue generated by players within their respective borders. Nevada’s population is around 2.7 million; Delaware has 917,000.
New Jersey is the only other state with legal online poker, but it appears it doesn’t have immediate plans to join Nevada and Delaware. It has a much larger market. Around 200,000 online gambling accounts helped generate $9.5 million for the month of January.
The state of California likely has the best chance to be the next to legalize web poker. Though, most states seem to be implementing a wait-and-see approach to online poker in 2014.
Photo via Las Vegas Review-Journal.
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