Months after Governors Brian Sandoval of Nevada and Jack Markell of Delaware signed the first U.S. interstate online gaming compact called the “Multi-State Internet Agreement,” online poker software company and poker room operator 888Poker, has confirmed plans of launching a shared network branded as the (AAPN) “All America Poker Network”.
The shared network will include the virtual poker rooms of the three regulated online casinos operating in Delaware, namely Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway, and the World Series of Poker (WSOP) site in Nevada, and will offer shared liquidity to poker players located within the two compacting states.
The 888Poker statement addressed to investors contained plans of deploying a network shared poker system across Delaware and Nevada, in which players can play others in the other states will have enhanced poker-playing experience, as they will be competing for larger prize pools created by the network’s shared liquidity.
The statement conveyed 888’s assurance to investors, of its commitment to establish itself in a strong position in the US gambling market through its business-to-business deals and via the All America Poker Network joint venture deal with Delaware-based Avenue Capital Group. The poker company likewise expressed its intention of consistently applying its multi-faceted, yet flexible expertise, and poker strategy in providing online poker players with exceptional recreational gambling in a secure and pleasurable gaming environment.
In being the sole poker software provider in the State of Delaware, the poker company can easily connect the poker rooms of the Delaware casinos to the WSOP poker site, since the latter also runs on 888Poker’s gaming platform. In addition, 888Poker has plans of creating its own online poker room in the Silver State.
The “Multi-State Internet Agreement” between Nevada and Delaware covers other regulated poker sites currently running live in Nevada, namely UltimatePoker and RealGaming. Presently the two sites are not part of the shared network plans, although, Ultimate Gaming could still pull an ace up its sleeve in the event that the State of New Jersey decides to participate in the interstate gaming compact. Nevada based UltimatePoker’s parent company Station Casinos, offers online casino and poker gaming in NJ via the Atlantic City-based Ultimate Casino.
Actually, both Governors Sandoval and Markell hope that there will be more U.S. states to add as participants to the gaming compact. In fact, they saw to it that the agreement is flexible enough to allow for expansion.
Under the “Multi-State Internet Agreement,” each compacting state will receive a percentage of the fees received from every poker hand played by the respective players of each state and through a networked site. As a general policy, Delaware laws will govern Delaware players, while players from Nevada will observe Nevada’s rules and laws.
This denotes that even if the State of Delaware includes online casino games as lawful gambling recreation, Nevada players must abide by Nevada’s laws, which recognize online poker as the only lawful form of Internet-based gambling. At the time of the signing, the two state governors stressed that the regulatory and economic sovereignty of each participating state will be respected.
Corollary to the signing of the interstate compact in February 2014, the two state governors had announced that a Multi-state Internet Gaming Association (MSIGA), with headquarters in Delaware will serve as the regulatory center to tentatively oversee the agreement between Nevada and Delaware.
