Caesars Applies for New Jersey Online Gaming License
Caesars Entertainment, the owner of the World Series of Poker, has applied for a license to operate an online gambling site in the state of New Jersey. Caesars is already well established in New Jersey, operating four casinos in Atlantic City: Bally’s Atlantic City, Harrah’s Resort, Showboat Casino Hotel, and the company’s namesake, Caesars Atlantic City. It would come as quite a shock if Caesars’ application were not approved, but there is no set timeframe for when the review will be completed.
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“It’s the first of I’m sure many hurdles to cross,” Seth Palansky, spokesman for Caesars Interactive (a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment), told the Press of Atlantic City.
Unlike Nevada’s internet gambling law, New Jersey’s allows for not just poker to be offered online, but also casino games. Caesars intends to take full advantage of that and provide a score of games to its customers. “We’re offering a whole suite of games in the U.K.,” Palansky said. “We anticipate having everything available.”
Like Nevada, New Jersey will allow its online gaming providers to enter into compacts with other states in order to combine player pools. This is especially important for poker, as sites will need as much traffic as possible in order to keep games going and, in turn, keep players depositing. New Jersey is one of the largest states in the U.S. in terms of population with over 8.8 million residents.
Caesars Interactive already operates a free-to-play online poker site in the U.S., WSOP-USA.com. It has also been granted an online poker license in Nevada and partnered with 888 Holdings to be its technology provider. 888 was recently granted a license as well.
Additionally, 888 has partnered with Las Vegas’ Treasure Island to create its online poker presence, which will eventually launch on the All American Poker Network, a joint venture between 888 and the investment firm Avenue Capital Group. This might lead one to believe that Caesars’ sites would also hop on the network because of the 888 connection, but there has been no indication from any party one way or the other.
Caesars may also be indirectly involved with the eventual licensing efforts of a potential competitor, PokerStars. PokerStars’ parent company, Rational Group, completed its application for Interim Casino Authorization last week in order to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.
Early last month, the American Gaming Association filed a brief with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and Division of Enforcement protesting PokerStars’ application. The AGA, of which Caesars is a member, expressed concern that authorizing PokerStars would “open the door into New Jersey’s gaming industry for applicants who cannot meet the law’s standards for integrity and honesty.”
PokerStars was none too happy about this, calling the AGA a “self-interest partisan picking a public fight.”
Additionally, PokerStars spokesperson Eric Hollreiser told Forbes that Caesars had approached the world’s largest online poker site in February offering to sell it “certain assets, such as the Rio Casino in Las Vegas” because it would give the two companies a better relationship and help PokerStars’ attempts to get licensed in Nevada.
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