Nevada and Delaware, which are two of the states that have regulated online poker in the U.S. are entering into a joint agreement to offer online poker games in partnership with each other.
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Delaware Governor Jack Markell met just last month to confirm the poker-only partnership between the two states. And in even better news, Sandoval confirmed just on Friday at the iGaming North America conference in Las Vegas that the interstate online poker pact between Nevada and Delaware could happen as soon as this Summer. This is a few months sooner than what had been indicated at the time of signing the online poker pact when it was suggested that it would take place in the later part of 2014.
The interstate online poker partnership will allow players in both states to play against each other as their player pools will be combined. It also hopes to address player liquidity issues that all online poker sites rely on to support a range of stakes and games in order to stay in business.
Nevada and Delaware are ranked 35th and 45th respectively in terms of population size in America. According to online poker traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, Nevada’s online poker market gets on average 200 ring game players at peak times throughout the day. While Delaware, which has a much smaller population comparatively speaking, gets at peak times just a few dozen ring game players.
Reports suggest that Delaware generated $396,000 in it’s first three months of launching its regulated online gambling market which is well short of targets and while Nevada hasn’t yet released any data regarding its online poker revenues, analysts say the numbers are below expectations. So this recent news is a significant boost for the hoped online poker liquidity improvements in these states.
The Nevada and Delaware online poker partnership is the first in the regulated U.S. online poker market and will be sure to set the standard for similarly drafted agreements that will come from other states who are considering going on to legalize online poker and other casino games.
After the implementation of the shared player pools, players shouldn’t expect much if any difference in terms of logging into their online poker accounts. According to Governor Markell, players will log into their preferred online poker sites as they normally would, where they can join tables that will include players that reside in both states.
Gov. Markell added, “By combining player pools we will be able to make our online poker offerings more diverse, more competitive and more enjoyable,” which will no doubt be beneficial to online poker players in Delaware especially, since traffic on Delaware online poker sites has been on the low side to put it mildly.
Discussions have already been initiated with New Jersey, the third state to legalize online gaming, to join this interstate pact, although to date New Jersey’s Governor Chris Christie is yet to sign an agreement.
Nevada’s Governor Brian Sandoval has also approached other states, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania, which are just a few of the states where lawmakers are considering offering online poker and other online gambling services.
Ifrah Law, based out of Washington, D.C., was the law firm that drafted the interstate agreement between the two states. It is seen to be one of the top American law firms for internet gaming and also represents some of the leading online gaming operators in the industry including the likes of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.