ONLINE POKER LICENCE APPLICATIONS FLOWING IN NEVADA

Sunday December 4,2011 : At present the main demand is from service providers anxious to be among the first in a legalised market.
 
With intrastate legalization still at least 12 weeks in the future – and with the final language of the regulations still to be agreed – five companies have already applied for online poker licenses in Nevada, Card Player magazine reports, quoting official sources.
 
The respected poker publication says that 888 Holdings, International Game Technology, Bally Technologies and Cantor Gaming have submitted paper work to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, whilst the recently launched free-to-play South Point Poker has applied to be licensed as an operator, but has yet to submit documents.
 
Most applicants seek authority to provide services to the new online poker sector that will come into being once the regulators have finalised the regulations, probably around February 2012 at the earliest.
 
The Gibraltar-based 888 Holdings, which already has an online relationship outside the USA with Caesars Entertainment, has apparently formed a US company titled 888 US Limited.
 
Control Board chairman Mark Lipparelli confirmed to Card Player that the board is 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," Card Player reports. "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."