Caesars Interactive Entertainment is to debut its interstate real-money poker this year, across its WSOP.com and 888Poker.com brands, reports The Associated Press.
Allowing internet poker players to face off against each other across Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey, regulatory approval has been submitted to all three states, which is it hoped will be rubber stamped before the scheduled May 1 launch, while software for testing has also been put forward in the trio of jurisdictions.
Players in Nevada and Delaware, who have been able to play against each other since 2015, will have to download new software and create a new account to be able to participate, with New Jersey players who have an existing account not affected.
Yaniv Sherman, 888’s senior vice president, commented: “Pooling poker players from three states will be a significant regulatory step in the U.S, and is very exciting for our players and partners.
“If approved, we anticipate that this will open up further opportunities in other states.”
Aiming to increase liquidity, with the more people playing online at the same time the larger prize pools and appeal of games become, the agreement marks the first linking the three US states that currently offer internet gambling. Pennsylvania is soon to offer online gambling too, but is not party to the deal.
Bill Rini, WSOP.com’s head of online poker, added: “This has been a huge collaborative effort from all involved and it is important to thank the elected leadership and regulatory authorities in Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey for their dedication and diligence to help move online poker forward.
“Everyone has had the end user in mind throughout this process, and as a result, we believe the United States, for the first time in a regulated environment, will have a large-scale multi-state offering that will propel the industry forward as soon as next month.”
