In comments made last week to the Las Vegas Review Journal, 888 CEO Brian Mattingley(pictured) said he would welcome the presence of PokerStarsin the US market. As you know by now, PokerStars and its sister site, Full Tilt Poker, were sold to Amaya Gaming for $4.9 billion in recent weeks in a deal that is scheduled to close in September. The transaction could bring PokerStars and Full Tilt back to the US.

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Even though 888 Pokerand PokerStars are competitors in the poker space, Mattingley emphasized the impact that the world’s largest online poker site would have, telling the Nevada media outlet, “We compete with PokerStars throughout Europe. They are a formidable competitor. But, they would make all of us work much harder and it would expand the market. I would much rather have a small slice of a large pie than a big piece of a small pie… It would be like unleashing an 800-pound gorilla into the market, but having more players on a regulated site would benefit everyone.”

PokerStars is potentially facing the wrath of “bad actor” clauses in California and other states across the US. In some cases, like California, it appears that even a sale to Amaya might not help PokerStars enter the market, as software, player lists, and other integrated features are subject to the “bad actor” clause no matter who owns them.

According to the Review Journal, “Mattingley said he didn’t like ‘bad actor clauses,’ but thinks it might be too late to change the language in the regulations.” Nevertheless, in April, PokerStars announced that it had entered an agreement with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, Bicycle Casino, Commerce Casino, and Hawaiian Gardens in California to offer online poker should a law exist that would make PokerStars’ presence permissible.

Speaking about PokerStars’ sale to Amaya and the presence of “bad actor” clauses, Caesars Interactive Entertainment CEO Mitch Garber (pictured) told the Review Journal, “Regulators and lawmakers have become increasingly sophisticated in understanding online businesses, their history, and other elements that contribute to the highest standards of suitability and probity.”

In recent days, Harvard Law School professor Laurence H. Tribe has questioned the constitutionality of “bad actor” clauses, potentially making the issue moot should they be formally challenged.

Last week, Amaya and officials from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement resumed talks to bring PokerStars to the Garden State after the site’s license review was suspended for two years pending “significantly changed circumstances,” like, one would presume, a sale and removal of key executives and owners.

We’ll keep you posted on the latest poker legislation news right here on PocketFives.

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