MGM among latest Nevada licensees
MGM, Z4Poker and CAMS receive approval from state's Gaming Commission.
The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) has awarded a further three online poker operator and supplier licences, bringing the total number to 16 since it began the process in May.
The latest group includes casino group MGM Resorts that, along with Boyd Gaming, has entered into an online poker partnership with bwin.party in preparation for a regulated US market.
MGM told regulators last month that it would set up a freeplay poker site by March 2013 with a view to offering a real-money product once bwin.party is licensed. MGM already has a social game on Facebook, myVegas, which was launched in August.
However the NGC panel yesterday made it clear that MGM’s approval did not guarantee bwin.party would also be given the green light to operate in the state.
Game developer Z4Poker was also awarded a licence as a manufacture and service provider of interactive gaming systems. The start-up intends to market its poker system to smaller casinos that cannot afford to develop their own.
The third company to receive its licence yesterday was CAMS, a subsidiary of global electronic payment company Verifi. CAMS becomes the first company licensed to offer geolocation services for online poker in the Silver State, as well as the second to offer payment processing services after Global Cash Access.
Nevada’s online poker players must now wait for operators’ software to pass the stringent technology checks by independent testing labs before sites go live in the state. Michael Gaughan’s South Point Poker was expected to be the first poker site to go live after the operator’s CEO claimed it would be ready this month, however the testing phase has taken longer than expected.
Other licensed operators vying for first move advantage include, Fertitta Interative, Golden Nugget, American Casino and Entertainment Properties and Monarch.