No Go for PokerStars in Latest NJ Approvals
Anticipation mounted throughout the week ahead of today’s update from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE), which saw the DGE hand out more iGaming approvals ahead of the fast-approaching November 26 launch of the nation’s third regulated online betting market.
One company was much talked about and then was noticeably absent from today’s list, that company of course being online poker behemoth PokerStars.
No operators on the roll today
Though the launch of real money regulated online betting in the Garden State is now only eleven days away, the DGE did not approve any operators in this week’s round.
Only ancillary companies and Internet gaming vendors got the thumbs up in the much-awaited updated.
Companies on that list include ooVoo, a video chat company; security concern iSEC; and Idology, a company that performs “know your customer” checks, a vital component of regulated iGaming as states must know that those logging onto the real money wagering sites are both located within the state’s borders and are above the legal gambling age of twenty-one.
PokerStars looking to make re-entry into regulated U.S. market
Though there are some, including powerful industry lobbying group the American Gaming Association (AGA), who believe that PokerStars ought to be barred from the burgeoning U.S. online gambling industry due to its continued offering of real-money online poker games to American players after the 2006 passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), there are others who aren’t willing to count PokerStars out of New Jersey just yet.
While not making online poker explicitly illegal, the UIGEA did restrict the processing of certain financial transactions related to Internet wagering. PokerStars, and its former rival Full Tilt Poker – a brand it now owns – was shut down two and a half years ago by the United States government amid a crackdown on offshore gambling companies that had the result of severely restricting access to online poker games in the U.S.
PokerStars, which is run by Isle of Man-based The Rational Group, settled its case in the summer of 2012 for $731 million. As part of its deal with the feds, the company admitted no wrongdoing and at the same time took over the assets and liabilities of Full Tilt Poker, a brand it went on to re-launch in regulated gaming markets outside the United States in the fall of 2012.
Should PokerStars be licensed to operate in New Jersey, which it is aiming to do via an iGaming partnership it struck with the oldest casino property in long-suffering Atlantic City, Resorts Inc., it will be the first time the company has offered regulated online poker games to American players.
PokerStars’ chances for licensing remain unclear at this time
While there are some industry observers who believe that PokerStars’ chance for success in New Jersey is a long shot, there are others who posit that PokerStars, despite the presence of some employees who may give regulators pause, comes to the state with considerable financial might, a fact regulators can’t overlook.
PokerStars has already pumped $11 million into the now-bankrupt Atlantic Club, a property that it failed in an attempt to purchase earlier this year.
Company officials have said repeatedly that they plan to continue investing in Atlantic City and are committed to preserving jobs there should they gain an operating license. Should PokerStars be green-lighted by Garden State regulators, it has also promised to build a new $10 million live poker room at Resorts.
The next DGE update will come on November 20.
