888 Strikes Another iGaming Deal, This Time with Wynn Interactive
Proving once again that it is poised to become a major player in the world of U.S. online gambling, today news broke that 888 has partnered with Wynn Interactive to operate online gambling web sites in Nevada and New Jersey.
As we mentioned just yesterday, 888 has also been awarded a contract to serve as a primary operator for iGaming in the state of Delaware in partnership with Scientific Games.
Wynn will use AAPN as basis for its real-money sites
The Wynn Company will be utilizing 888’s All American Poker Network (AAPN) as the foundation of its real-money gaming sites.
On its own web site, 888 – already a huge brand in regulated online gambling markets outside of the United States – is trumpeting that soon it will have real-money games for American players as well. Interested players are encouraged to sign up there for email updates.
Brian Mattingley, 888’s CEO, expressed his pleasure at the deal, saying, “This is exactly the type of partnership we’ve envisioned when we formed AAPN with our partners in Avenue Capital. The challenge of establishing a robust, entertaining offering with ample player liquidity is one of our prime goals, in direct continuum to 888′s success is other regulated markets such as Spain and Italy. Wynn’s market footprint and reputation will allow it to leverage our technology and products as it did so successfully in the land-based world.”
Much speculation about Wynn’s plans, particularly in the Garden State
There has been a great deal of conjecture regarding Wynn Interactive’s future plans for U.S.-facing online gambling, especially after the company indicated last month that it was interested in getting approved for an online gambling license in New Jersey.
At that time, many in the gambling industry guessed that Wynn was possibly interested in taking over a land-based Atlantic City casino property. Focus turned specifically to the Atlantic Club Casino Hotel, which was the subject of many headlines throughout the spring after it terminated a purchase deal with PokerStars that led to a lawsuit that was ultimately decided in favor of the struggling casino.
PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker room, committed to buying the property late last year, having already paid $11 million toward a $15 million purchase price when the Atlantic Club put an end to the deal. To date, the Atlantic Club remains one of the only of the twelve casino resorts in Atlantic City yet to announce an iGaming partnership. The revelation of such partnerships have been making news all year long, as New Jersey’s online betting law requires that real-money gambling sites be tied to land-based casinos in the state.
PokerStars, which subsequently announced a partnership with Atlantic City’s oldest casino, Resorts Inc., incidentally had previously entered into an online gaming agreement with Wynn. That deal, however, was squashed after April 15, 2011, a date better known as Black Friday to those in the poker world, as it was the day that the United States government cracked down on unregulated Internet poker.
Fortunately for Wynn, its deal with 888 is unlikely to meet with the same fate, as in both Nevada and New Jersey the placing of Internet wagers is legal for those who are over the age of twenty-one and are physically located in the state when logging on to the sites, however in New Jersey the market has not yet gone live. That is expected to happen in late November.
