According to various Las Vegas news outlets, the process of granting intrastate online poker licenses in Nevada was pushed further along this week when the Gaming Control Board recommended that several companies become operators. The first license announced went to Bally Technologies and, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, "The hour-long hearing in Carson City marked the first time since Nevada gaming authorities approved regulations covering interactive gaming - online poker within the state's borders - that a company was considered for licensing."The Nevada Gaming Commission will now take up the issue on June 21, according to the same Las Vegas newspaper and a Bally Technologies press release. If you're not familiar with Bally Technologies, the company has nothing to do with Bally's casino or the fitness brand of the same name. Instead, Bally has been a staple of the gaming industry for the last 80 years.
Bally Technologies CEO Richard Haddrill was proud to receive the historic gaming license: "This is a historic day for Bally Technologies, for Nevada, and for the gaming industry. We are very grateful for the Board’s recommendation and are excited about being the first company recommended by a U.S. state for licensing to offer online gaming products and services."
If approved, Bally plans to offer its gaming technology to casino operators and thus function in more of a business-to-business capacity rather than business-to-consumer. Bally Technologies recently purchased Chili Gaming's business-to-business arm and teamed up with with Aristocrat Technologies ahead of the U.S. internet gambling market taking shape. Chili Gaming had previously partnered with the Golden Nugget for a free play online poker site.
A Bally Technologies executive commented at the time of the Chili Gaming transaction why the company was appealing: "This acquisition provides an open, cloud-based platform for Bally Technologies to offer an integrated traditional and online casino solution to operators worldwide. Equally as important, Bally Technologies has also obtained an experienced team of industry veterans from within the online gaming industry, which will help our customers optimize their use of this platform."
Nevada regulators also endorsed William Hill for an online poker license. The publicly traded company operates an online poker site on the iPoker Network and, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, William Hill's license would allow it to "operate three race and sports book companies as well as mobile wagering apps in Nevada."The newspaper added that William Hill has already purchased American Wagering, Brandywine Bookmaking, and Club Cal Neva Satellite Race and Sports Book, which are all entrenched in the sports betting industry. Its total purchase price for all three companies exceeded $50 million.
According to the Review-Journal, William Hill plans to "consolidate all three companies, 164 sports books and kiosks, and online and mobile operations under the William Hill brand."
One of the questions William Hill faced in Nevada was its relationship with Playtech, which owns and operates the iPoker Network. The Review-Journal shared, "William Hill owns 71% of the online business, while Playtech holds a 29% stake… Their agreement gave William Hill the opportunity in December and again in 2014 to buy out Playtech's stake in the company."
Also getting the green light to offer online poker games in Nevada pending approval from the Nevada Gaming Commission was International Game Technology, or IGT. You'll recall that IGT recently purchased the Entraction Network, which could get it into hot water with Nevada authorities.To that end, the Las Vegas Sun explained, "Entraction had been illegally accepting wagers from the United States. IGT said it investigated the background of Entraction before the purchase, but did not uncover the U.S. betting. It was stopped and it was determined it was less than 1% of the Entraction business… IGT is working with the Federal Department of Justice to resolve if there will be any penalty."
Other licensees should be announced soon. When legal online poker games will launch in Nevada remains to be seen. Initial estimates were the end of 2012, although PocketFives has heard rumblings that games could be rolled out in early 2013.
