Star Tribune – A Canadian company buying the PokerStars website will begin licensing talks with New Jersey casino regulators aimed at letting the world’s largest Internet poker site operate legally in the state, the state’s top casino regulator said.
The state Division of Gaming Enforcement will begin the talks Thursday with Amaya Gaming Group, which is buying PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker for $4.9 billion, division director David Rebuck told The Associated Press.
Most importantly, the sale involves PokerStars executives charged with fraud and money laundering resigning from the company. That would appear to clear the way for PokerStars to enter the New Jersey market, something it had tried twice to do before the state suspended it for up to two years, citing the unresolved indictments against the executives.
“We’ve had discussions with Amaya to reactivate the application, and we plan to begin discussions with them tomorrow,” Rebuck told the AP on Wednesday. “We’ll look at whatever they bring over.”
He said he was “encouraged” by the sale and the licensing talks.
“I think in the long run it will be a good story for New Jersey,” he said. “I’m optimistic that they know what the rules are, and I fully expect them to be very aggressive because they want to be here.”
Internet gambling has hit a wall in New jersey after just six months. The Atlantic City casinos’ online operations posted revenue declines for the past two months.
