- Brian Mattingley, CEO of 888 Holdings believes allowing PokerStars to compete in the US market would benefit the industry as a whole and he welcomes the competition.
- In a telephone interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Howard Stutz, Mattingley opined that the inclusion of PokerStars in the US “would make all of us work much harder and it would expand the market.”
Brian Mattingley, CEO of 888 Holdings, believes allowing PokerStars to compete in the US market would benefit the industry as a whole and he welcomes the competition.
In a telephone interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Howard Stutz, Mattingley opined that the inclusion of PokerStars in the US “would make all of us work much harder and it would expand the market.”
“I would much rather have a small slice of a large pie, than a big piece of a small pie,” Mattingley continued.
888 in the US
888 is currently operating in New Jersey and Delaware, two of the three states that have regulated online poker in the US.
In Delaware, it is the sole internet poker provider under the purview of the Delaware Lottery.
888 has also been approved for an interactive gaming license in Nevada, but has yet to launch.
888 vs PokerStars
In terms of cash game traffic, 888 is currently the second largest online poker operator in the world behind, PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker parent company Rational Group. The top two poker companies already compete globally in the dot-com markets and in the ring-fenced market of Spain.
‘It would be like unleashing an 800-pound gorilla into the market, but having more players on a regulated site would benefit everyone,” said Mattingley.
PokerStars in the US
Rational had it license application suspended in New Jersey last year prior to the launch on the online gaming in the state.
However, following the announcement that Canadian-based Amaya Gaming had entered a deal to purchase Rational Group, including PokerStars and Full Tilt, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement has agreed to discuss the reopening of Rational’s application with its future owner.
Attempts by Rational to participate in other US markets such as Nevada, which currently has three online poker operators, and California and Pennsylvania, which are considering legislation to regulate online poker, have stalled due to the inclusion of “Bad Actor” provisions in the law and pending bills that prevent the inclusion of companies and their assets that offered online wagers within the US after December 31, 2006.
