Precisely a yr in the past, executives from BetMGM’s father or mother firm advised Nevada regulators that the long-awaited launch of the net poker platform in Nevada was nonetheless “one yr away.”
Properly, that yr has come and gone, and the standing of BetMGM Poker within the Silver State stays as unsure as ever.
For years, there was hypothesis that BetMGM is on the verge of launching on-line poker in Nevada. We’ll admit — we’ve added to that hypothesis greater than as soon as, particularly after an organization consultant acknowledged the launch was coming “quickly” again in 2021, albeit with out providing a concrete timeline. But, nothing has come of it, and WSOP On-line stays the one regulated on-line poker possibility out there to gamers within the state.
MGM Resorts Interactive, the digital arm of MGM Resorts Worldwide, which owns 50% of BetMGM, was first licensed in November 2012 to function on-line poker in Nevada. Since then, it has repeatedly sought and acquired waivers from the Nevada Gaming Fee (NGC) to delay launching its platform.
These waivers are successfully extensions, permitting MGM to carry onto its interactive gaming license with out going reside. However every year, MGM has returned to the Nevada Gaming Management Board (NGCB) asking for yet one more reprieve — and thus far, it’s been granted each time.
Final yr, the corporate secured its 14th such waiver. Whereas the NGC has grown more and more annoyed with the extended delays, it has continued granting extensions, acknowledging MGM’s ongoing engagement and plans for launch.
However the clock is ticking as soon as once more. That 14th waiver expires on April 24, the date of the subsequent NGC month-to-month assembly.
Now or By no means?
So the query is: Is BetMGM really prepared this time?
Pokerfuse reached out to the operator for a remark, however BetMGM has declined to touch upon the matter. If BetMGM doesn’t launch poker in Nevada this yr, it must return to the NGC to request a fifteenth waiver later this month — and this time, there’s an actual probability the fee might not grant it.
With that stated, there may be cause to consider 2025 may lastly be the yr. Final yr, firm executives claimed they’d “all the pieces lined up” for launch.
“When it comes to being ready for [a poker] launch, we have now all the pieces lined up,” Chandler Pohl, vice chairman and authorized counsel for MGM Resorts Worldwide, advised the regulators final yr. “It’s only a matter of attending to that time the place we go ahead.”
BetMGM already holds a license to make use of its PartyPoker software program in Nevada, the identical platform powers BetMGM Poker Michigan and BetMGM Poker New Jersey, and its father or mother firm was granted an extension for that license in Might 2024. Launching in Nevada would permit BetMGM to attach these current swimming pools into the Multi-State Web Gaming Settlement (MSIGA), making a tri-state community.
Much more attractive: Pennsylvania, one other market the place BetMGM Poker is already reside and is the present largest on-line poker market, is on the cusp of becoming a member of the multi-state compact. If that occurs, BetMGM may function a four-state shared liquidity community spanning New Jersey, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania — placing it on equal footing with WSOP, which can also be positioned to run a four-state community as soon as PA joins the compact.
Nonetheless, with all that stated, it’s fully attainable BetMGM may delay its Nevada launch but once more, because it has achieved for over a decade. It’s price noting that Nevada solely permits on-line poker, not on-line on line casino, a vertical the place BetMGM has historically seen sturdy efficiency alongside sports activities betting. Which will clarify why poker has not been a prime precedence for the corporate.
May This Be The Yr?
Whether or not Pennsylvania’s imminent entry into the interstate compact for shared liquidity will lastly immediate BetMGM to go reside in Nevada stays to be seen. The corporate might now be in a greater place to prioritize poker after focusing closely on different verticals.
There’s no less than some indication that plans are in movement. In an interview with Poker Business PRO shortly after the launch of BetMGM’s shared liquidity community in November 2024, Angus Nisbet, VP of Gaming at BetMGM, hinted at a attainable Nevada launch. Whereas he famous that the corporate “continues to work intently with regulators,” he additionally dropped a delicate trace, stating: “BetMGM is the Sportsbook born in Vegas. It’s the place BetMGM Poker belongs.”
Nisbet has a degree. MGM, which owns half of BetMGM, additionally owns a good portion of the Las Vegas Strip, together with ARIA, the enduring venue that hosts the ARIA Poker Traditional and the BetMGM Poker Championship. The Championship is ready to return for its fourth consecutive version in 2025, as soon as once more operating alongside the rival World Collection of Poker (WSOP).
This yr, the high-stakes BetMGM Poker Championship will kick off on June 30 and wrap up on July 4, overlapping with the opening days of the WSOP 2025 Primary Occasion. As in 2024, the match will function a $3 million assured prize pool and a $3,500 buy-in. On-line qualifiers are already underway by way of BetMGM Poker shoppers within the three US states the place it operates.
With 1000’s of gamers flocking to Las Vegas for WSOP 2025, the summer time presents a first-rate alternative. A well-timed launch of BetMGM Poker Nevada could possibly be the right approach to capitalize on the seasonal surge in poker visitors.
Please play responsibly. If you happen to or somebody you recognize has a playing downside and needs assist, name 1-800 GAMBLER.
