Category Archives: Online Poker in the US

zynga gets ready for real money poker

Zynga Adds Online Poker Executive

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Online games giant Zynga is dropping more than a few of its eggs into the online poker basket. We can surmise this because the company recently hired a woman named Maytal Ginzburg as COO of its newly formed gaming division. Ginzburg was most recently Senior Vice President of Regulated Markets for 888 Holdings.

Zynga has experienced some setbacks recently which have been reflected in its declining stock price. Slowing growth in its most popular games and the loss of key executives have taken a toll on the company. Over the last two months, CEO Mark Pincus, has publicly stated the company’s intention to enter the lucrative real money online gaming market and leverage its tremendous user base.

Due to the current illegality of online poker in the United States, Zynga poker will begin its foray into real money gambling in Europe. This may end up being an unfair test for the new venture. The European online poker market is mature and more than one site is well established. Of course there is the behemoth, Pokerstars, which may account for better than 50% of the total number of players online at any one time. Then there are the next two most popular sites, 888 Poker and Party Poker. Point is that there is stiff competition in this market and Zynga might not get significant traction from the get go. Starting off in a young, developing, regulated US market would have made for a much more exciting debut.

We believe that there will be several mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, etc. over the next year in the online poker industry. That activity will intensify as things progress on the regulatory front in the U.S. Zynga will, no doubt, be a much sought after partner given its huge database of players. In April of this year, Forbes reported that the company was in talks with Wynn Resorts to form an online partnership. What a great combination that could be for poker players – Zynga’s worldwide popularity and expertise in social gaming combined with the prestige of the Wynn brand. The most sought after partner out there will be Pokerstars, but there will be other potential alliances similar to Zynga/Wynn that can become formidable competitors. All that competition will ultimately benefit players.

 

Online Poker Legislation

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The rebirth of online poker in the U.S.

The worldwide phenomenon of online poker is about to enter a new stage as gaming industry titans quietly prepare for its legalization in the United States. The largest and most lucrative market for online poker players is poised to set the framework for the future of the industry. A lot is happening behind the scenes.

Casino companies know how big the industry had become at its peak and how quickly it grew. The largest online poker site, Pokerstars, celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2011 with a huge schedule of tournaments capped off by a $10,000,000 guaranteed prize pool Main Event. The overall prize pool for the series was down significantly from the year before mostly due to the lack of U.S. based players.

April 15th 2011, or “Black Friday” as it became known amongst online poker players, saw the shutdown of the largest poker sites: Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker. Overnight, millions of players in the U.S. were cut off.

Online poker in the U.S. basically went dark. Players were unwilling to sign up to smaller, even riskier, sites that were still “open” to U.S. players. Player accounts at Full Tilt were supposed to safely house deposits estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars when the site was shut down – money that will never be seen again. Players will be eager to play, however security will be the number one concern.

There is momentum building behind the legalization of online poker in the United States. The Justice Department released a 13 page legal opinion in September 2011 which clarified a decades old federal law which prohibited interstate gambling. Some in the gaming industry view this as an early move to legalize interstate online poker.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), an advocacy group in favor of legalizing online poker, is pushing for federal controls over licensing and regulation of poker websites to better protect players and avoid conflicting and potentially confusing state laws.

In response to the Justice Department ruling the PPA had this to say:

“This will provide policy makers at both the state and federal level with the legal confidence to move forward with licensing and regulation of online poker and other non-sporting activity within their respective jurisdictions. However, it is our hope that our federal policy makers see this as an incentive to move quickly to enact federal licensing and regulation before various states produce a mix of individual state schemes that may not be the best model to serve consumers.”

Read the rest of the PPA press release here:

PPA Applauds DoJ Ruling: Online Poker Does Not Violate the Wire Act Calls on Congress to Act Quickly to Pass Federal Legislation

2012 is shaping up to be an extremely active year for the industry. Beyond just reading the latest headlines, poker players—from hobbyists and those seeking entertainment to professionals—need to get involved. The time is right for players to band together and become a force in shaping the future of the industry. Poker sites are nothing without members—they should have to work hard to attract and keep those members.

ameripoker.com is dedicated to finding ways to ensure that the voice of poker players is heard by the new poker sites that are currently under development. The competition for loyal customers who:  1) generate income for the site; and 2) keep valuable funds on deposit; will be fierce. Players should not underestimate the leverage that they have in dealing with these new sites once the gold rush is on…probably starting in 2013.