US online poker is making a comeback, and 888 Poker, for one, is helping see to it. After halting US operations in 2007 after passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA) the parent company of the site, Gibraltar based 888 Holdings, has just signed a joint venture agreement with a company called Avenue Capital Group to create the All-American Poker Network, the first legal U.S. based online poker network.
Avenue Capital Group, which is an investment first based in the U.S. and which has the funds it would take to establish the 888 Poker brand in the United States. 888’s Chief Executive Officer, Brian Mattingley, told The Financial Times that this makes the perfect marriage for launching the 888 brand (or re-launching it, really) in the U.S. markets, making use of Avenue Capital Group’s land based casino and entertainment holdings and operations.
The All-American Poker Network will most likely start out by operating on a state level, entering the markets where intrastate gambling is permitted, and then moving onto a federal level when the climate permits. The first poker room to be offered on the new All-American Poker Network will be Treasure Island. This is named for the land-based casino of the same name on the Las Vegas strip, with which 888 signed a recent partnership agreement in February 2013.
888 is also a part of the World Series of Poker deal recently made with Caesar’s Entertainment.
Licenses have not been issued to 888 and Treasure Island yet for this venture to take place, but they expect to be given them at a March 21 hearing before the Nevada Gaming Commission.