The first legal real-money poker Web site in the United States is open for business.
UltimatePoker.com, run by Ultimate Gaming, a majority-owned subsidiary of Las Vegas locals giant Station Casinos, began accepting wagers this week, the first of several US Internet gambling operations on the way in the months ahead as the states of New Jersey and Delaware rush to join Nevada and get their online games up and running.
Licensed in Nevada and limited by state law to residents and in-state visitors, UltimatePoker offers both single-table games and multi-table tournaments with buy-ins ranging from US$0.01 to $100. Players must be at least 21 years of age.
About 20 other companies—including social gaming pioneer Zynga—are preparing to set up virtual shop in the Silver State, while on the other side of the continent Delaware expects to be online by September with full-scale casino gambling under the auspices of the state’s lottery and Atlantic City’s casinos are working with regulators to get their games online by the end of November.
Like Nevada, however, both will be restricted initially to gamblers within their respective borders, although it is believed that states with legal markets will be able to compact with each other to increase the shared player pool. Several attempts to overcome the interstate divide by persuading the US Congress to sign off on national regulation have never gotten past discussion in committee and aren’t likely to in the future. Two years ago, a Justice Department crackdown on offshore operators practically drove the online game in the US into extinction.
A fully realized US online poker market could generate $4.3 billion in revenue its first year and $9.6 billion by year five, according to London-based research firm H2 Gambling Capital. But a state like Nevada, which has a total population of only 2.8 million, will be hard-pressed on its own to generate the liquidity necessary to make poker profitable. Las Vegas, however, welcomes more than 45 million visitors a year, and its all-powerful casino industry is hoping a revival of poker in cyberspace will help their bricks-and-mortar operations capture a younger market. UltimatePoker players, for example, can cash in winnings at any of Station’s 16 casinos, and tourists can create an account online before they arrive. Station also plans to offer guests rewards for playing Ultimate Poker, much like player points they receive in casinos. The points can be traded for free rooms or food.
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