By Maria Willson
With just two of its online poker sites being active at present, Nevada was counting on interstate gambling to increase its customer base. According to a recent report, Nevada state officials are discussing the possibility of an online gambling compact with Delaware state officials. Delaware is the second state after Nevada to have its own, legal online poker and casino sites. New Jersey will also be launching its online poker towards the end of this month, on November 26.
The Nevada Gaming Commission had adopted a new regulation earlier in October, to encourage the state to seek compacts with other states to boost online gambling revenues. Delaware Legislature has also approved the state casinos to form alliances with online casinos in other states. The formation of such alliance for online poker and casinos is no different from the alliance that the states have already formed for their Mega Millions and Powerball lottery formats.
What the Compact Could Mean?
If the talks between Nevada governor Brian Sandoval and Delaware governor Jack Markell become fruitful, the states could soon have a compact for online gambling. What does this mean? Well, with the compact, online casinos and poker sites in both the states will be sharing their customer base to boost revenue generated. This means people in both the states will be able to access the online gambling sites in both Nevada and Delaware. According to the present online gambling regulation, poker and casino sites are allowed to offer their gaming services only to people within the state and not across the country.
Delaware has Online Casinos, Nevada Only has Poker
Nevada only has two poker sites at present – WSOP.com and Ultimetepoker.com – and has no intention of launching casino games any time soon. Delaware on the other hand has become the first state to launch a full-fledged online casino market offering not just poker, but also other casino games like blackjack, slots and roulette. The online casino operations in the state are being managed between three of its casinos – Delaware Park, Harrington Raceway and Dover Downs. Nevada poker rooms are using different platforms to keep the experience unique, all of the online casinos and poker rooms in Delaware are running on 888 Holdings platform.
State officials feel that the time has come to see how interstate online poker and casino gaming experience will be for their people. The compact will allow online casino and poker enthusiasts to access sites in the other state only when they are willing to use the location based services so that casinos can detect their geographical location. Even to access the sites in their own state, users have to give their consent to make their geographical location known to casinos.
In Delaware, as well as in Nevada, players will also have to provide their social security number for identification and to confirm that they are of legal age for gambling.
Gambling Compact to be Reality, but in the near Future
Reports suggest that both Nevada and Delaware state officials are positive about the compact, although it will not be a reality right now. The states have taken a first step in exploring the possibilities of interstate online gambling, and have a common interest in boosting the liquidity of their poker sites by expanding the customer base. Both the states will certainly benefit significantly with the alliance, according to Seth Palansky and Ty Stewart of WSOP. Delaware’s finance secretary, Thomas Cook added that this alliance would also benefit gamblers and without doubt, the online poker and casino sites offering the service.