The Recent Wire Act Ruling Will Benefit US Online Poker, 888’s VP Sherman Says

The 888 senior VP and head of the US division, Yaniv Sherman has stated that the latest ruling of the federal appeals court on the Wire Act would position online poker for more growth.

There are only three states that make up the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association, there are, Delaware, New Jersey, and Nevada. Although more states like Pennsylvania and Michigan are keen to join the association but have been hesitant because of the Wire Act opinion which was posted for review by the Department of Justice in 2018.

The association offers poker sites, like WSOP.com, that are found within the member states to allow players to compete only with players within the states. This saw the World Series Poker last month’s Main Event being held in Nevada and New Jersey.

The Court of Appeals gave its ruling on the day President Joe Biden was sworn into office as the President of the United States. With Biden being a supporter of the expansion of the Wire Act, there is every tendency that there will not be an appeal to the Supreme Court.

More States Equals More Growth

Sherman is of the opinion that poker would continue to grow as it is a net positive for every operator in play. He stated that with the possibility of Pennsylvania and Michigan joining the other three states in the Multi-State Internet Gaming Association, their total revenue could amount to $200 – $250 million in a short span. He also made clear that the poker industry could cover a 10% market share of the projected $10 – $12 billion worth of the gaming industry in 2025, as analyzed by Morgan Stanley, ARK, and others.

He is confident that the latest ruling of the Wire Act by the federal appeals court would only aid the growth of the iGaming industry, with more states coming on board.

888 and Caesars Extend Agreement

888 serves as a back-end provider platform to operators but also operates its own gaming websites. They announced the multi-year extension of their B2B partnership with Caesars Interactive Entertainment a day before the Wire Act ruling. So 888 will continue to make its services open to Caesar’s WSOP.com poker room.

Upon extension of the agreement, Caesar Interactive Entertainment hopes to expand its online iGaming and poker network by establishing in other states. While 888 plans to launch its Poker 8 platform in the US due to the extension of the deal. Sherman stated that the Poker 8 platform will benefits players across all skill levels, which he says includes more mobile functionality to give players to ability to play games on the go on their mobile devices, iPhone, iPad while being able to do other things as well. Sherman also revealed that the platform contains a portrait mode, which they felt was vital for players as most of them have a need of wanting to play with one hand. The Poker 8 platform is said to have been launched in Europe, last November, and Sherman claimed that players like the new platform.