Bwin.party forges ahead with Nevada online poker licensing

Despite comments made by its CEO last month, Bwin.party is moving forward with its application to operate online poker websites in the state of Nevada. Norbert Teufelberger had previously said that the company had decided “not to operate in Nevada”, choosing instead to focus on New Jersey, which had approved gambling legislation that made all types of online gambling available.

Bwin’s attorney, Frank Schreck, clarified the statement. “New Jersey is the focus because there is a definite time table,” Schreck said in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The company is still moving forward in Nevada.”

Bwin’s Nevada application is currently undergoing a rigorous approval process, and it is now in its second year.

With failed 2012 earnings, and a reforecasted 2013 outlook, bwin.party is looking to put more lucrative irons in the fire, the biggest of which they believe could be New Jersey. Teufelberger told media outlets that he believes his company could share the New Jersey online arena with Caesars Entertainment Corporation, a gambling conglomerate that owns more than 30% of the land-based casinos in Atlantic City. Bwin.party could enter the market through its partnership with Boyd Gaming and MGM Resorts, or create a new partnership.

While Las Vegas is on the top of a very short list of lucrative gambling cities in the United States, New Jersey has something nearly every other gambling mecca lacks: population. With its proximity to New York City and Philadelphia, not to mention its own population of 8 million people, New Jersey could be a ripe pick for the companies willing to partner up for a slice of the pie. The question now is who will be ready to serve it up first.

Author: GamesAndCasino