In what was a very quiet move on Tuesday, Nevadaand Delawarejoined together in an interstate compact with the beginning of a “soft launch.” Expected to extend over the coming week, the launch allows the three online poker rooms in Delaware and WSOP.com in Nevada to work out any kinks ahead of a full launch that is expected next week.

The interstate compact, signed over a year ago between Delaware Governor Jack Markell and Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, has been some time in actually getting off the ground. Previously expected to have launched during the middle of 2014, the new compact will allow the two states to share players in cash games, tournaments, and sit and gos.

Prior to the compact, both states had issues with player liquidity due to their relatively small size. Nevada, with 2.8 million residents, and Delaware, with only roughly 900,000, had trouble generating a viable player pool when operating by themselves. Even with less than one day of operation under the soft launch, it is obvious to see that the sites in Delaware will be benefiting from the new compact at the start.

According to PokerScout.com, the three Delaware poker rooms over the past two weeks peaked at 60 cash game players on March 16. The seven-day average for cash game players on the Delaware online poker scene was only seven players. Those numbers, simply from Tuesday night alone, were crushed once the ability to play with Nevada players was added. At approximately 9:00pm on Tuesday evening, the number of players on the Delaware network peaked at 313 players.

Due to the regulations regarding the soft launch process, there has been little said regarding the compact between Delaware and Nevada. In a comment to PocketFives, Bill Rini, Head of Online Poker for WSOP.com, simply stated, “At the moment, everything we can say right now is out there. There will be other announcements coming, but we’re trying to respect the process and wait until all parties are comfortable releasing information.”

Although the compact allows for the Delaware and Nevada player pools to combine, there will be some promotional aspects that will remain with their particular states. Previously here at PocketFives Seth Palansky, Vice President of Corporate Communications for Caesars Entertainment, noted that “promotions specifically for the WSOP.com player will remain exclusive to WSOP.com.” It is also not known whether satellites for the 2015 World Series of Poker will be available to players in Delaware in some form.

Reaction from the players has been generally positive, but questions seem to remain. Many players would like to see New Jersey’s online poker market join in, but there are obstacles to that. One of those obstacles is the use of heads-up displays, which are allowed on the New Jersey online poker sites but not in Nevada. Teaming with New Jersey, where WSOP.com and 888 Poker both have operations that would easily adapt to the Delaware/Nevada arrangement, would expand the player pool even further.

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