According to an Associated Press interview with David Rebuck (pictured), Director of the Division of Gaming Enforcement in New Jersey, Garden State officials have been in touch with their counterparts in Nevada and the United Kingdom about sharing online gambling liquidity. However, no deal is “imminent.”

The exact text reads as follows: “Rebuck said a goal for the industry’s second year is to increase player pools in online games like poker. He has been in discussions with authorities in Nevadaand the United Kingdom about reciprocal agreements to expand online gambling, but says no deal is imminent.”

You might recall that Nevada and Delaware have already forged an agreement to share online poker player pools, but no common brand currently exists in the two states to do so. Now, it’s conceivable that with a common site, all three regulated markets in the United States could be hitched together as soon as next year.

All in all, according to Rebuck, internet gambling has been a mixed bag for New Jersey in 2014. He told the Associated Press, “We’ve had some victories and we’ve had some losses. From a regulatory standpoint, it’s working really well, without any catastrophes, meltdowns, or scandals. On the negative side, it was projected to be a much stronger financial performer.”

Ultimate Poker has left the market in New Jersey, while the Pala Indian-backed Pala Interactive will soon launch. Meanwhile, all eyes have been focused on PokerStars, the largest non-US site, which was expected to enter New Jersey in October, but is reportedly in “time out” until at least the end of the lame duck session of Congress.

According to the Associated Press, “The expected approval of PokerStars’ new owner, Amaya, to offer internet gambling in New Jersey is still under review and won’t happen until early 2015 at best, Rebuck said.” The “at best” comment could cast even more doubt on when and if PokerStars could make its entry into the East Coast state.

Ultimate’s departure from New Jersey, and shortly thereafter Nevada, reinforced the need for states to compact, according to the Poker Players Alliance. The organization’s Executive Director, John Pappas (pictured), told PocketFives, “We need a national network for online poker. I think this was a business case study for why a national network is so important. That can be achieved federally or by states doing aggressive compacting.”

On Capitol Hill, we are hearing the possibility of a “backroom deal” being struck to pass Sheldon Adelson‘s Restoring America’s Wire Act, a bill that would terminate internet gambling in the three regulated US markets, including New Jersey.

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