MGM and Boyd apply for Nevada licences
Licence applications follow deals with bwin.party signed last year.
MGM Resorts International and Boyd Gaming have submitted their applications to offer online poker in Nevada, according to reports.
According to information obtained by US poker site Card Player the two land-based operators have applied following the deals signed with bwin.party in October last year.
Under the terms of the deals, MGM and bwin.party will jointly offer online poker should federal legislation be passed. Boyd and bwin.party will create a new entity “ 10% owned by Boyd “ which will offer poker under bwin.party’s existing poker brands, as well as signing a separate 15-year deal which will see Boyd create its own poker offering using bwin.party’s technology platform.
Last week Fertitta Interactive, which acquired CyberArts in October last year, applied for both a service provider and an operator licence, making it the fifth company to apply for an operator licence alongside smaller Las Vegas casino groups South Point Poker, Monarch Gaming, MGM and Boyd.
A total of 11 companies have so far applied for licences with a further six organisations applying for a service provider licence. These include 888 (Dragonfish), Bally Technologies, IGT, Shuffle Master, Cantor Gaming, and Aristocrat Technologies. Bally, 888, IGT and Aristocrat have all applied for service provider licences as listed manufacturers.
Last week 888 penned a deal with Caesars to extend its software licensing agreement to cover the US market, allowing the US operator to launch online poker as soon as intrastate or federal regulation is passed.
This was followed by Caesars’ agreement with French casino group Lucien Barrière’s poker division LB Poker to develop software for the US. As a result only one of Caesars’ brands “ which include the World Series of Poker “ will run on the Dragonfish platform.
In November last year Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) chairman Mark Lipparelli revealed that applications would be assessed this month with companies previously granted accreditation likely to move through the process at a faster rate than those new to the process.