Caesars Interactive set for Nevada licence hearing
Casino group's online arm expected to receive licence to operate poker site.
Caesars Interactive Entertainment’s (CIE) application to become the latest online poker operator in Nevada is to be heard by the state’s Gaming Control Board next week.
The online arm of Caesars Entertainment has been actively preparing for the opening of Nevada’s real-money online gambling market through poker partnerships with 888, Microgame and Barrière, however it has had to remain patient, watching on while the likes of MGM Resorts, Boyd Gaming and South Point have received their licence.
Its application is expected to be endorsed by the board on 6 December, before being referred to the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC)for final approval.
CIE’s real-money poker deals with 888’s B2B subsidiary Dragonfish and Barrière were extended earlier this year and cover the United Kingdom and French markets respectively, with both expected to power its B2C offering in the US. Last year the former became the first partnership between American and European egaming businesses to be approved by the NGC.
Last year the operator acquired Playtika, a social games developer of titles including Slotomania and Caesars Casino, for an estimated 130m. It also owns the influential World Series of Poker brand through which it offers real-money online poker in the UK, France and Italy.
More recently, the operator has agreed a deal with Optimal Payments to provide payment processing services, including fraud management and other related services, for its future US real-money online poker offering.
With a household name brand and established partnerships, Caesars is considered to be extremely well positioned to prosper in the US online poker market.
It has publically supported a federal online poker bill, however earlier this month Caesars Entertainment chief executive Gary Loveman admitted to being “not terribly optimistic“ with regards to the passage of a federal egaming bill during the upcoming lame duck session.