Nevada officials are considering forming a compact with New Jersey to allow for interstate online gambling compacts, MGM CEO Jim Murren said in an interview Tuesday.
“I think it’s likely that in 2014 we’ll see a compact between New Jersey and Nevada,” Murren told Reuters following its company’s second-quarter earnings call.
An interstate compact would allow online poker rooms to share liquidity. Given its population size, Nevada needs to form such compacts if it hopes to build a healthy online poker market.
A.G. Burnett, chairman for the Nevada Gaming Control Board, told Reuters: “Nevada is striving to do what it can in regards to compacts. We do not jump into the fire without having done a lot of cautious research and study into the particulars of such agreements, and that phase is nearing completion.”
The online gaming laws in Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada, the three US states to have legalized online gaming, all allow for interstate compacts. However, individual relationships must be forged that find a common ground within their regulations and are mutually beneficial to the two states. New Jersey and Nevada are themselves competing to become the hub of online gambling.
MGM Resort International has been approved for online poker in Nevada, but back in May said it was cautious about launching in such a small market. It is also an applicant for online gaming in New Jersey. It has partnered with bwin.party to provide the software in both states.
