Licensed To Operate: Party And Sportech Win Full Online Gambling Approval In New Jersey
For over a year, online gaming companies in New Jersey have been operating under a temporary license called a Transactional Waiver.
These TW’s indicate preliminary approval has been given by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, but the full investigation into the company’s suitability for a gaming license is still ongoing.
On Tuesday two companies in New Jersey’s regulated online gambling industry received the first full approval by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement for their CSIE (Casino Service Industry Enterprise) licenses:
- party
- Sportech (Sportech Racing LLC)
These are (to my knowledge) the first two companies to be one hundred percent licensed by the DGE for a CSIE license.
I also suspect this is just the start, and anticipate the DGE will be approving a number of other companies for full licensing in the coming days, weeks, and months.
The issuing of these licenses may also be a precursor to the one announcement online gambling advocates have been frothing at the bit for, the impending approval of PokerStars’ CSIE license, which has been intimated by the CEO of Resorts Casino as well as by Amaya Gaming.
Other potential CSIE recipients
There are several other companies that will likely receive full CSIE approval in the near future:
- Betfair (partnered with Golden Nugget)
- 888 Holdings (partnered with Caesars Entertainment)
- Gamesys (partnered with Tropicana)
- Bally Technologies (partnered with Golden Nugget)
The one (soon to be two?) remaining companies in the market likely to be operating under a transactional waiver for the foreseeable future are PokerStars and Pala Interactive.
PokerStars hasn’t even received approval for a transactional waiver at this time and due to the discussion surrounding the company’s past, the DGE will likely scrutinize their application for an extended period of time.
Pala is another company with a skeleton or two in the closet, evidenced by the mini-brouhaha that surrounded the company’s receipt of a transactional waiver back in November.
bwin.party one of the industry’s biggest players
bwin.party is responsible for powering the BorgataCasino.com, BorgataPoker.com, and their own poker/casino site at NJ.PartyPoker.com.
In a press release, bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger said of the full license:
“Receipt of our full licence in New Jersey marks an important milestone for our US business. We believe that the path to regulation across the United States is inevitable and expect that other states will soon follow.
Recognised as being the best poker software supplier and for providing the operating platform behind the best mobile gaming product (poker and casino) as well as the operator of the year in New Jersey[1], together with our partners, we are focused on delivering a safe and secure real money gaming experience for adults wishing to play games using mobile, touch and desktop channels.
We have a demanding delivery pipeline which will provide our customers with further exciting content throughout 2015.”
Sportech quietly builds an impressive iGaming portfolio
Sportech has a dual role in New Jersey.
First, Sportech has been operating in New Jersey for over four years, processing payments for the state’s off-track betting parlors and an advanced deposit wagering website. According to reports, the company’s New Jersey operation is responsible for over $11 billion in wagers annually.
Second, Sportech’s subsidiary, NYX Gaming, powers the recently launched ResortsCasino.com software.
Sportech CEO Ian Penrose had this to say about the company’s recent license approval in a press release issued on Tuesday:
“We are delighted to have been awarded our licence in New Jersey, which we believe is among the first, if not the first, to be acquired there by a European gaming group. It is viewed as a “Gold Standard” in licensing in the sector globally, and is an endorsement of our standards of operations and the qualifications of our directors and senior employees.
I thank all those who have been involved in the process to help us get to this point, and look forward to building on the opportunity that this licence award presents to Sportech.”
Image Joseph Sohm / Shutterstock.com