Five years ago, President George W. Bush outlawed online gambling. However, it is expected that new legislation will allow states to regulate online gambling in their jurisdictions. In anticipation of these new changes in the law, the online gambling market is heating up.
Playtech is a British company that designs online gaming software and operates more than 80 online games worldwide, including an online poker game, ipoker.com. Playtech has entered into a joint venture with Scientific Games, a 40-year-old gaming operation offering products and services worldwide. Together the joint venture, called Sciplay, hopes to create an online poker website operating in the United States.
The Sciplay joint venture partners have recently signed an agreement with California Online Poker Association (COPA) in order to launch their online poker game in California. COPA’s members include California tribal governments and card clubs licensed in California.
Together, the joint venture hopes to implement a legal high-quality online poker game for California residents. The joint venture will allow COPA’s member to launch a free online poker game sometime this year. Once launched, California players will be able to play for free until the proposed legislation is enacted legalizing online poker.
The joint venture partners believe that the online poker gaming industry will be the source of substantial revenue. Californians make up 60 percent of the U.S. online poker players, currently consisting of two million California online gamblers. However, because online poker games are currently illegal in the U.S., California poker players must use offshore websites. Under the proposed legislation, California players will be protected from the fraud and theft that they were vulnerable to using the offshore websites.
Once online poker becomes legal in California, the hope is that this joint venture will create a safe and fun gaming experience for California residents. The State of California will also benefit from the joint venture by an estimated $1.4 billion in new revenue to the state, along with jobs that will be created in California as a result of the joint venture.
Source: The Wall Street Journal Market Watch, “COPA Selects Sciplay and Playtech as Its Online Poker Technology Providers,” 20 June 2011