top corner

GVC Applies for Online Poker License in Nevada

For years now, WSOP.com has dominated the online poker market in Nevada. That dominance may be soon challenged as partypoker owner GVC has applied for both sports betting and online poker licenses in Nevada.

GVC Partners With MGM International For Sports Betting

In case you missed it, GVC has partnered with MGM Resorts International for sports betting. The two companies have created the sports betting platform Roar Digital and they are looking to bring that to Nevada.

According to an article posted by Online Poker Report, GVC has applied for a sports betting license in Nevada. Nevada was one of the only states to allow sports betting for years and it seems natural that the companies pursue Nevada interests considering that the companies partner in New Jersey.

MGM owns the Borgata in Atlantic City and GVC presently offers partypoker NJ through the Borgata. It is that brand that has most in the online poker world interested in GVC’s license application.

GVC Asking for Interactive License

As the OPR report revealed, GVC has asked to be granted a license for interactive gaming, which means that they would be able to offer online poker in the state. Presently, only WSOP.com and Real Gaming offer online poker in the state. Yes, Real Gaming still exists, but good luck in finding a game there.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board reviewed the application on May 8 and it passed by a 2-1 vote. Terry Johnson was the dissenting vote. He is not happy that GVC owned Ladbrokes and continued to offer services in Turkey where it was illegal to offer online gambling products. GVC no longer owns Ladbrokes but Johnson still did not view the company as being suitable.

If you have been following online poker in Nevada, you already know that Nevada law has a bad actor clause which effectively prohibits PokerStars from operating in the state. While GVC is not a bad actor in that sense, the fact that they owned a company that was a bad actor elsewhere is concerning to Johnson.

Not a Done Deal for GVC

There are still multiple hurdles for GVC to clear before it is granted a full license. First, it needs to pass a vote by the Nevada Gaming Commission. Even if it passes this vote, it will still have to go through a provisional licensing period of two years. During that time they will have to pay $100,000 in costs to the NGC to cover investigations in to the company.

One has to wonder whether or not this is a wise move for GVC considering that the market in Nevada can only support one online poker site. Granted, the other sites that have operated in the past have not had the same backing as GVC and partypoker. Ultimate Poker lasted less than a year before shutting down and Real Gaming has never had more than a Sit and Go’s worth of traffic at any point.

If we were to guess, we’d assume that GVC is making this move as a way to set up a multi-state online poker network provided that the legal matters surrounding the Wire Act are resolved. If the Wire Act issue is resolved, then partypoker could potentially operate a network including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. Their present moves could be forward-looking moves by the company to compete with WSOP.com and what we predict will be an eventual PokerStars US network as well.

Should the Wire Act decision stand, we may also see GVC abandon their attempt to get a license for online poker as the market in Nevada just isn’t large enough to warrant such a move.

bottom corner