According to report by Christopher Palmeri on Bloomberg.com, Caesars Entertainment Corporation will house the gaming servers of competitor Wynn Resorts in one of its Atlantic City casinos when the online gambling industry gets underway in New Jersey later this year.
It is an interesting decision by Caesars and not just because Caesars and Wynn are fierce competitors. Wynn does not even own a casino in Atlantic City; because state law requires an online gaming operator’s servers be located on an Atlantic City casino’s property, Wynn would have been shutout without some sort of deal. Instead, Caesars is extending a helping hand.
Why? Bloomberg’s anonymous source did not say, but one could point to a number of possible reasons. Caesars could see Wynn’s inclusion in the New Jersey internet gaming industry as a way to grow the market – in essence, the more major players that are involved, the better the chance to draw interest from potential customers. Caesars is also certainly making money off the deal, too, and it very well could have figured that another competitor would host Wynn’s servers, anyway, so why not beat them to the punch and make some bank at the same time?
Like Caesars, Wynn has partnered with 888 Holdings in its online gambling venture. 888 will provide its software suite and back office services to Wynn, as well as host Wynn’s site on its All American Poker Network (AAPN), a joint venture with Avenue Capital Group. The inclusion of Wynn on AAPN was announced Monday; Wynn became the second casino to join the network, Treasure Island being the first. Initially, it appears that AAPN will have to separate its Nevada and New Jersey networks (Treasure Island would only be on the Nevada version) until the two states come up with an interstate online gaming compact.
Most of the Atlantic City casinos have made its software partnerships known to the public. Here is the rundown of the ten deals we know of:
• Trump Taj Mahal – Ultimate Poker
• Trump Plaza – Betfair
• Tropicana – Gamesys
• Borgata (Boyd Gaming) – bwin.party
• Golden Nugget – Bally Technologies
• Caesars (Caesars Entertainment) – 888 Holdings
• Bally’s (Caesars Entertainment) – 888 Holdings
• Harrah’s (Caesars Entertainment) – 888 Holdings
• Showboat (Caesars Entertainment) 888 Holdings
• Resorts Casino Club – PokerStars
The only two that have not revealed their partnerships are Revel Casino Hotel and Atlantic Club Casino, though.
It is not known at this time which of Caesars’ Atlantic City casinos – Caesars, Bally’s, Harrah’s, or Showboat – will be the one to house Wynn’s systems.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) was looking at November 23rd as the launch date for online gambling in the state. Unlike Nevada, which only allows for online poker, New Jersey permits operators to offer all games that are currently offered in the state’s brick-and-mortar casinos.