Steve Wynn is one step closer to a return to New Jersey’s gambling industry.
Wynn Interactive, in conjunction with partners AAPN and Caesars Interactive Entertainment, recently petitioned New Jersey gaming regulators for a transactional waiver, a precursor to doing business in the state’s regulated market for online gambling.
Wynn does not have a physical casino presence in New Jersey, a fact that necessitated the development of one of the more curious arrangements in NJ’s regulated iGaming market.
Wynn Interactive and AAPN parent company 888 struck an online poker partnership back in September of 2013 intended to cover Nevada and other states with regulated online gambling.
An arrangement between Wynn Interactive and Caesars (who are also partnered with 888 in Nevada and New Jersey) that would see Caesars host Wynn’s gaming servers at one of Caesars’ Atlantic City properties was subsequently reported by Bloomberg.
But Wynn was conspicuously absent from the lineup when New Jersey launched regulated online gambling in late November.
And Wynn Interactive did not appear on the list of companies eligible for a transactional waiver.
The filing of the petition on January 10th suggests that the company is intent on moving forward in New Jersey.
In terms of a timeline for launch, Wynn Interactive would, at least in theory, require very little time following approval before going live with poker and casino products, as the platform and content would apparently be provided by partners such as 888.
It is assumed that a Wynn online poker site in New Jersey would share liquidity with 888’s All American Poker Network. Currently 888 is the sole skin on the network.
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