South Point Casino Lands First Online Poker License

Nevada’s South Point Casino has been approved by the Nevada Gaming Control Board to operate the state’s first legal online poker room.
The three member commission gave its approval for the licensing this week, while the Gaming Commission is set to give its nod in a couple of weeks.
South Point Goes It Alone
South Point took an early lead in the Nevada intrastate poker race by developing its own, proprietary gaming and geo-location software. Most of the other big companies are partnering with established gaming companies for gaming hardware and software needs.
Going it alone also took multiple layers of complexity out of the notoriously difficult Nevada Gaming Licensing process as South Point is the operator, manufacturer and service provider for their poker room.
According to published reports, South Point to the Board they’re deep in the software development process and could have all systems ready to go in as little as a couple of weeks. This timetable is significant because regulators will be conducting a full technology review before granting final approval.
South Point plans on have the pay site live as soon as this fall.
Are you going to need a Nevada Gaming License, too? Check out Affiliates: Why You Need to Prepare for Nevada Licensing
Mixing Land-Based and Internet Gaming
In addition to accepting online account withdrawals and deposits, Southpoint will also be accepting them at its land-based locations. This puts them in a good position to build a large, local player base that’s already familiar with their brand.
Company officials have expressed an interest in taking their product out of Nevada if the opportunity arises, but for now they’re focusing on the Silver State.
First License Was Always the Plan
Anyone who’s been following the news out of Nevada shouldn’t be too surprised to see South Point so far ahead of the game.  The company has been planning to for this day since Nevada first announced that they’d be accepting applications last fall.
As part of their preparation they’ve been operating a free poker site called South Point Poker for almost a year. Currently there are no plans to shutter the free site once the real money site goes live.
How do you think South Point Casino will be able to compete with larger international gaming partnerships? Share your opinion in the comments section below this article.