MGM Resorts Announces Alliance with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment

With billions on the line, people like Donald Trump and the major casino companies are rushing to get into the right position to take advantage of if and when the United States regulates online gambling.

The MGM Resorts announced this week their poker alliance with Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, the company that owns Party Poker, the second largest online poker service worldwide and the World Poker Tour.

Jim Murren, chief of MGM Resorts said in a statement;

“MGM is proud to have bwin.party as our partner as they have the assets and experience that, combined with our brands, can ensure a secure, fair and entertaining online poker experience.”

Of course this is all contingent on an online gambling regulatory regime being started on either a local or state level. This bet on an online regulation seems to be where all the big money is heading. Boyd Gaming also announced it is entered into an online poker alliance with Bwin.Party as well.

According to Jim Ryan, co-chief executive of Bwin.party they have been working on both these alliances for the past 18 months. Bwin.party is slated to own 65% of the proposed joint venture, while MGM will own 25% and Boyd will own 10%. Bwin.Party will also license its technology to both MGM and Boyd so they can offer online poker under their own brands as well.

According to Ryan, “The intention of the joint venture is to take the PartyPoker brand and the World Poker Tour brand and our operating expertise and combine that with the regulatory expertise of MGM and Boyd.  Effectively you will have four brands in the U.S. and all four brands will be acquiring players and putting them in one hub, one poker network.”

The U.S. poker market has been the world’s largest even as the U.S. try’s to curtail as much as it can. Now, the U.S. casino industry has made an about face and is pushing for regulation to regulate online gambling market either on the state or federal level.