The first real-money games in the US offered under the legendary World Series of Poker banner launched in Nevada yesterday.
The WSOP games are currently only available to players within the borders of the Silver State, and is running on a software platform provided by European operator and B2B supplier 888, which powers Caesars’ WSOP website in the UK.
Caesars’ online poker room is the second to go live in Nevada, after Ultimate Poker claimed bragging rights over offering the first fully legal real-money games within the US in April.
The US casino giant said in a media conference call on Monday that it would be gearing its poker room towards the mass market, as reflected by its choice to reject the traditional model of using sponsored pros and to spread its marketing budget more broadly with the aim of nurturing “a healthy ecosystem”.
Caesars received its operating licence for intrastate online poker in December, with its platform provider receiving its permit late March.
WSOP.com is the founding member of 888 and its JV partner Avenue Capital Group’s All American Poker Network (AAPN), with Las Vegas bricks ‘n’ mortar casino Treasure Island set to be the next operator to launch a skin.
Nevada’s population is insufficient to sustain a viable intrastate poker business among the 13 bricks ‘n’ mortar casino owners already licensed as interactive operators. In order to overcome this restricted liquidity, the state authorised gaming compacts with other states and countries in June, eventually allowing Nevada-licensed operators to mingle their player pools with those elsewhere.
Nevada has however shown little appetite to date for entering a compact with New Jersey, poised to be the next US state to offer real-money gambling within its borders later this year, with its regulator working towards a November launch date for online casino games, as well as poker.
Caesars is planning to follow its Nevada launch with a WSOP-branded real-money room in New Jersey, also allocating one of its three other licences to 888 to offer poker and casino under its own brands there.
Article written by Stephen Carter
