Pokerstars and Full Tilt could launch in New Jersey this October

According to multiple New Jersey sources, Pokerstars and Full Tilt have received the approval to enter the New Jersey market in October.

The Division of Gaming Enforcement has not confirmed the decision yet.

The deadline to finalize deals with prospective affiliates was this Monday, on August 11.

Just before the deadline, Amaya received a green light to start preparing for a launch in October. The company will spend the remaining time making sure that all the guidelines and regulations of the state are met, and with creating promotions to welcome the new players to the sites.

Pokerstars' entry to the New Jersey market was supposed to happen last year, but the Division of Gaming Enforcement pretty much told Pokerstars in December that as long as any members of the Scheinberg family are in charge, they will not receive a licence.

When this information was published, everyone thought that Pokerstars has invested way too much money and time to back down and that they would do anything to get into the market.

Pokerstars paid fines and settled with the Department of Justice, and then started to negotiate with Amaya Gaming, which ended with Amaya acquiring Rational Group, the company behind Pokerstars and Full Tilt.

Both experts, and head of the DGE, David Rebuck agree that the introduction of the biggest poker site in the world into the New Jersey market will be very beneficial and opens the door for a lot of development for the whole New Jersey online gaming department.

In New Jersey, if a company wants to offer online gambling, they have to have a live casino behind them. Pokerstars made an agreement with Resorts International in Atlantic City last summer so this law is not a problem either for Amaya.

Resorts International

If Amaya can really get license for operating with Resorts International, it would be a huge step for Amaya, and the whole US gambling scene.

Amaya also has an agreement with Connecticut-based Mohegan Sun Casino about supplying them with the Ongame Network services if online gambling becomes legal in the future in Connecticut.

Right now, online gambling is not legal in Connecticut, but if Amaya/New Jersey successfully launches, Mohegan Sun will probably put more effort into legalization aswell, and the more states are legalizing, the closer we come to a national market, that could eventually expand into a global market.

The fact that Amaya has contracts with several companies regarding their Ongame Network services creates an interesting situation, it's unknown how they will proceed with these agreements, but they have already approved of transaction waivers with two Caesers properties, the Golden Nugget, Borgata, and the Trump Plaza (which could close soon anyway), so any conflicts of interest will probably be solved also.

All the details and questions should be cleared up once the official announcement is published.