Caesars Interactive set for Nevada hearing next month
Operator's application will be heard by Gaming Control Board on 6 September.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment (CIE) hopes to be approved as an online poker operator in Nevada next month when its application is heard by the state’s Gaming Control Board (GCB) on 6 September, eGaming Review North America has learned.
The company has been waiting in line since filing its application in December last year and seen fellow Vegas operators South Point and Monarch gain initial approval from the GCB this month, with both set to get the nod from the Gaming Commission next week.
CIE, the online subsidiary on Caesars Entertainment headed up by former PartyGaming CEO Mitch Garber (pictured), is expected to be a major player in a regulated US market.
It has already made several moves in preparation for this moment, acquiring a 51% stake in social games developer Playtika last May before making it a fully-owned subsidiary by securing the remaining 49% in Q4 2011.
Earlier this year CIE also extended its software licensing agreements with 888’s B2B subsidiary Dragonfish and the poker arm of French casino group Lucien Barrière (LB Poker) with a view to developing technology for the US market.
The Dragonfish partnership became the first deal between a US operator and a European egaming company to receive approval from Nevada authorities when it was approved by the state’s Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission last year.
In its Q1 results released in May Caesars Entertainment’s social and online operations more than trebled year-on-year to US$64.7m, with these revenues now accounting for 2.8% of the company’s overall revenues.