In March, an odd bill was introduced into the Nevada State Assembly; it listed no sponsor, but was said to have been backed by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and its CEO, Sheldon Adelson. AB 414 aimed to restrict any interstate online gaming compacts to only internet poker, keeping Nevada out of any partnerships that involved online casino games. The bill died in committee last week.
AB 414 can be best encapsulated by the Legislative Counsel’s Digest (appropriately):
Existing law authorizes the Governor, upon recommendation of the Nevada Gaming Commission, to enter into agreements with certain governments to enable patrons in the signatory states to participate in interactive gaming. (NRS 463.747) This bill: (1) provides that such agreements may only be entered into to enable patrons in the signatory states to participate in Internet poker; and (2) defines Internet poker for such purposes.
That’s fairly straightforward and easy to understand, but the strange thing about the bill is that nobody really knows why it was introduced in the first place. Poker is the only internet game that is currently legalized and regulated in Nevada, so there hasn’t been anyone calling for what the bill would do. It just seemed pretty pointless.
In the meantime, about a week after AB 414 was introduced, Nevada merged its online poker player pool with Delaware’s. The combination had been promised since February 2014, when Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed the “Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement.” The hope was that by sharing player pools, the states could increase liquidity for their internet poker rooms, which, in turn would bring in more revenue to each state.
They both could use the help. Nevada is just the 35th most populous state in the U.S. with an estimate 2.8 million residents, while Delaware’s population matches its tiny physical size – it is one of the smallest states, with a population under a million. Nevada’s online poker market has been underwhelming at best; its first online poker room, Ultimate Poker, is already six feet under, leaving it with one viable room right now. WSOP.com “boasts” a seven-day average of 170 cash game players, according to PokerScout.com. Delaware’s three rooms, all associated with the state’s three racinos, were barely a blip on the radar until the player pool merger. Now, naturally, they have the same number of players as WSOP.com.
Things could improve this year if 888’s All American Poker Network (AAPN) gets going. While it has been anticipated for some time now, 888 is expected to launch its own branded internet poker room in Nevada at some point as well as a room for the Treasure Island casino. The plan is to then combine those two rooms with WSOP.com to form the All American Poker Network (WSOP runs 888’s software). The Delaware poker rooms also use 888’s software, so when it finally launches, the AAPN could be six poker rooms strong. There is no indication yet that WSOP.com and 888poker in New Jersey would be part of this – especially since New Jersey has not entered into any agreements with other states – but it has likely been discussed.
