Delaware eyes interstate online gambling compact with Nevada

The US state of Delaware, which launched the first phase of implementation for its legalised online gambling yesterday has ambitious plans for interstate collaboration in the near future, reports the newspaper USA Today.

Quoting Delaware Financial Secretary Tom Cook, the newspaper said that Delaware aims to team up with Nevada early next year in an interstate partnership agreement to increase online poker player liquidity.

Cook told the newspaper that he hopes to sign an interstate compact with Nevada in early 2014 that will allow online poker players in both states to sit at the same virtual tables.

Early reports from the United States indicate that Delaware’s move Wednesday to offer free-play action as a precursor to real money online gambling in October went off smoothly, with each Delaware casino’s homepage directing visitors to the Facebook-linked game platform DoubleDown Casino, run by slot machine company IGT, one of Delaware’s contractual slots vendors.

Free games will continue to be available when the real-money games come online, Cook said, with a variety of table games, card games and brand-name slot machine titles offered by the state’s gambling vendors accessible through a single portal.

He also promised mobile gambling facilities would be available next year.

Meanwhile, Dover Downs chief Ed Sutor said the free play will be used as a regional marketing tool, combined with banners offering promotional deals and special offers.

“We are going to try to the best of our ability to get those people from the free-to-play to come play here,” he said, adding that time will tell on the extent of the impact on internet gambling on state and casino revenues.

“It hasn’t come up a lot in the discussion, to tell you the truth,” Sutor said. “We’re not sure how much revenue this is going to produce.”