The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is delaying the launch of its PokerTribe.com site for at least two and a half months. News of the delay came on the same day the site was set to become the first regulated poker site in the US to be run by tribal gaming interests.
According to a release from the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, which is partnering with Universal Entertainment Group (UEG) on the project, the delay was due to problems with, “international issues.”
Besides its status as the first American tribal online gambling site, PokerTribe.com also dreamed of international success. Unlike other US online operators, the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is catering to an international player base and that’s clearly added layers of complexity to their plans.
More specifically, tribal leaders say the process has been hung up issues involving payment processing and other financial tangles. As of this writing, PokerTribe.com is set to be working with big name banking partners including Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express.
Despite the delay, tribal leaders remain optimistic about the PokerTribe.com’s future. Iowa Tribal Chairman Bobby Walkup said:
We have completed each phase thoroughly and precisely. The final phase is the most important for a successful launch with the real money play, which is why we are rescheduling our launch date.
Walkup also said the tribe is working with “leaders” from the countries their site hopes to serve.
For now, PokerTribe.com is open as a free-to-play poker site. The tribe will be casino games when it does eventually launch.