Great Interest In Nevada Online Poker Licenses

Service providers anxious to be among the first in a legalized market.

Five companies have already applied for online poker licenses in Nevada although there are at least 12 weeks to wait until the legalization as well as the final language of the regulations. The applicants seek authority to provide services to the new online poker sector.

888 Holdings, International Game Technology, Bally Technologies and Cantor Gaming have submitted all necessary papers to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Recently launched free-to-play South Point Poker has also applied to be licensed as an operator, but has not yet submitted the documents. Previously mentioned 888 Holdings, based in Gibraltar, having an online relationship outside the USA with Caesars Entertainment, has now formed a US company titled 888 US Limited.

Mark Lipparelli, Control Board chairman, confirmed they are currently reviewing the documents submitted by the applicants.

"Regulators will reconvene toward the end of December to continue to iron out the language in the regulatory drafts, which must be finished by the end of January. February would be the earliest possible time a real-money online poker site could be running in the Silver State, but Lipparelli said laboratory testing and approval of software and other technologies will likely take longer than issuing licenses."

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