Will Pala Replace PartyPoker in Borgata Deal

Saturday February 27,2016 : WILL PALA INTERACTIVE REPLACE PARTYPOKER IN BORGATA ALLIANCE?
 
Speculation that a change is set as network poker numbers lag behind Caesars-888.
 
Bwin.Party has not confirmed speculation this week that its PartyPoker subsidiary may be ousted later this year from the New Jersey online gambling alliance with Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.
 
Whilst the Borgata online gambling enterprise is the market leader, its poker numbers are reportedly lagging behind the Caesars-WSOP-888Poker venture, which may be a motivating factor for the rumoured change.
 
Our readers will recall that just last week GamingAccount Network (now branded GAN) announced that it has clinched a Simulated Gaming deal with Borgata for free-play, but with real-money capability if required.
 
Borgata also signed a collaborative agreement with Pala Interactive (owned the Pala Band of Mission Indians) late 2014 which cleared the way for the Band to obtain a transactional waiver and to launch online casino operations in New Jersey, with poker to follow.
 
However, the regulator warned that further investigations were ongoing into the online poker past of Pala CEO Jim Ryan, which includes an association with UltimateBet and the software cheating scandal that eventually overwhelmed the enterprise (Ryan has denied any knowledge).
 
Current speculation is that Pala Interactive will likely replace Bwin-PartyPoker by the middle of the year, but there has been no official public confirmation.
 
Bwin.Party is now a subsidiary of GVC following the recent merger, and GVC does not hold a New Jersey licence (although it has applied for one).
 
Earlier this month the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement granted GVC a restricted operational waiver allowing its subsidiary Bwin-PartyPoker to continue to operate in the short term, and GVC management appears confident that the company will be accepted.