The state of Delaware was the first in the United States to legalize online poker and now the state has finally released a proposal of regulations for the new gaming options related to it. These options are set to begin in late September and the proposal itself is twenty-seven pages long and open for public review.
The public will be able to comment on the regulations proposal throughout the month of July. Gaming officials in the state have sated they will read more into comments they deem ‘worthwhile’ and will take the comments into consideration. This will take place before the statute is finalized. It has been over a year since the state passed the Delaware Gaming Competitiveness Act of 2012 and Delaware became the first state in the US to approve online casino and poker gaming options.
Included in the proposed regulations for Delaware is the fact that the Division of Gaming Enforcement will have the authority to approve or reject those who apply for an online gaming license. Those who would like to be considered for a license in the state must be free of felony convictions, crimes related to the gaming industry in the last decade as well as not be associated with any one person or company that has been found to be lacking moral character.
An exciting part of the proposal states that Delaware will consider speeding up the process for applicants if they have already been approved by other states like Nevada or New Jersey. This can speed up the process of licensing and some companies may be able to beat out the competition to be the first to offer online poker in the state due to this process.
Service providers have also already been chosen in the state. The online gambling operations will be conducted by the Delaware State Lottery and the primary vendor for the online options will be hosted by Scientific Games, Williams Interactive and 888 Holdings who are working together. The state will also be using other service providers to offer this service to their residents.
The release of this proposal for regulations just adds to the excitement of online poker in the United States. Players continue to have more options as states open up to the idea of regulated and licensed online poker options while federal legislation is also in the works. Hopefully things will continue to look up in the US poker industry!