Ultimate Poker Clears Trial Period
Last week Ultimate Poker, the Nevada online poker web site that made history back in April by becoming the first regulated real-money poker room in the United States, won final approval by the Nevada Gaming Commission.
The room set another milestone last week, that being the 10 millionth hand of poker played in its three months in operation.
Site exits from test period
In winning the final stamp of approval from Nevada gambling regulators, Ultimate Poker, whose parent company, Ultimate Gaming, is partly-owned by Nevada-based Station Casinos, Inc., the operator of a number of land-based properties in the Las Vegas area, also emerges from a 90-day test period in which their platform and operations were closely monitored by state gaming officials.
Now that the trial period has officially ended, Ultimate Poker is free to move forward with implementing changes and upgrades to its software, something it plans to act on very soon, according to remarks made by company officials.
Success of Ultimate Poker proves viability of secure U.S. poker, says company
Proponents of regulated online gaming in the United States frequently buttress their opinions by noting that in offering legal online betting, both operators and customers can be appropriately vetted to ensure that the market (as well as the personal and financial information belonging to players) is safe and secure.
The success experienced by Ultimate Poker during its short history just serves to bolster that argument, says Chris Derossi, Ultimate Gaming’s Chief Technology Officer.
“The technology has worked. We are able to offer a safe and secure online poker experience for the first time in America,” Derossi was quoted in an article in the Las Vegas Review-Journal published last week.
Nevada first state in the nation to offer games to residents
Nevada became the first state in the U.S. to pass legislation to regulated real-money wagering in the United States when it did so back in 2011.
Residents must be at least 21 years of age and must be physically present in the Silver State when accessing the real-money online poker rooms. While the Nevada online betting market is limited to only the game of online poker, the state’s governor is permitted by law to negotiate interstate online poker deals with other states that has legalized the game.
So far those states are limited to New Jersey and Delaware, both of which have cleared the way for comprehensive Internet-based betting, meaning that residents in those states will have a wide variety of games to choose from including online versions of classic casino games such as roulette and blackjack when the sites are launched, something that is expected to happen later on this fall.
A number of states around the nation are looking into offering online gambling, as progress of regulation at the federal level seems unlikely despite the fact that currently two such bills, one sponsored by U.S. Representative Peter King of New York, and another brought forward by Representative Joe Barton of Texas, are circulating in the halls of Congress.
California, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire have all looked into regulating Internet betting, with more expected to follow suit as states around the country look for ways to bring in revenue and to sustain gambling economies.
