A history-making online poker interstate partnership between Nevada and Delaware is set to be signed by the governors of both states later today, Delaware Online reported.
Delaware Gov. Jack Markell and his Nevada counterpart, Gov. Brian Sandoval, will reportedly get together in Wilmington, Delaware and officially forge an agreement that will allow both states to combine their player pools. The deal will boost the online poker regimes of both states, increasing liquidity and perhaps prompting more signups as a result.
Revenue numbers released by the Delaware State Lottery for January reveal that a combined 1,006 new players signed up at the state's three online gambling sites operated by Harrington Raceway, Delaware Park and Dover Downs. The new registrations allowed the state's online gambling scheme to experience increased revenue only slightly, from $140,009.22 in December to $145,276.23 in January.
With regard to poker, a significant decrease was seen. While $106,922.76 was earned in rake from the online poker tables in December, 2013, only$88,390.48 was reported in January. That decline approaching 20% is likely a huge factor in Markell deciding to team up with Sandoval and the Silver State.
Nevada's two sites of WSOP.com and Ultimate Poker typically average less than 200 players combined on the cash tables, according to PokerScout. A third site, Real Gaming, launched last week, which may siphon players from the two that have co-existed since mid-September. This appears to be a fine time for both Delaware and Nevada to make their play and increase liquidity.
The interstate agreement comes on the heels of a recent announcement by Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) that he expects an online poker-only bill on the federal level to be introduced in a matter of weeks. The proposal will reportedly rewrite the Wire Act to exclude online casino gambling, but allow Internet poker to be regulated by any state that chooses to opt in on the federal scheme.
The expected alliance of Nevada and Delaware later today is what many had envisioned for online poker throughout the U.S. once state-by-state regulations began taking hold. Perhaps New Jersey will also join the mix in the near future, to be followed by a number of other states who are said to be considering online poker and gambling legislation.
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