MGM Resorts International and two other companies, Las Vegas-based Z4Poker LLC and Los Angeles-based CAMS LLC, were officially awarded licenses to compete in Nevada’s new intrastate online poker arena. This comes after they were given approval by the Gaming Control Board earlier this month.
What’s next for MGM?
In the coming months, MGM Resorts intends to fire up at play-for-fun poker room to drum up attention and a fan base. (MGM already has a social media poker site, myVEGAS.com that it is powering in partnership with Playstudios. This would be a separate endeaver).
MGM Resorts has partnered with bwin.party Digital Entertainment PLC to provide a real-money online poker website. This website is on hold until bwin.party is approved for an online poker license in Nevada. According to a Vegas Inc article, members of the Nevada Gaming Commission commented that the approved license for MGM is independent of the upcoming review of bwin.party, which is a large, international poker operator that powers PartyPoker, PartyCasino, the WPT, and other brands.
It’s important to note that these online poker licenses are for for skill-game, opponent-based online poker. Video poker does not fall into this category.