Another sign that PokerStars is serious about making a huge impact on the New Jersey online gambling market: The group’s parent company, Amaya Gaming, announced late last week that it had entered into a license agreement with NetEnt, the Stockholm-listed casino content provider. The terms of the deal dictate that NetEnt will provide its quality desktop and mobile games to PokerStars’ new platform in the Garden State, which is due to go live with its soft launch this week before a fully scheduled and official launch on March 21st.
This is not the first deal struck between NetEnt and other major operators in the state, but it is certainly the most high-profile one, considering the efforts made by Amaya over the years to get its PokerStars brand back into the US market.
NetEnt will apply for a transactional waiver from the state’s gambling authorities, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement, for permission to launch operations with the online poker room since its full license application is still under review.
The managing director of NetEnt America’s, Bjorn Krantz said that PokerStars is one of the biggest online gaming power houses in the world. “The agreement is yet more proof of the trust and confidence that exists in NetEnt’s operational and portfolio capabilities,” he said.
Krantz also said that NetEnt was confident that PokerStars US’s player community would enjoy the enhanced player experience offered through the Swedish group’s game portfolio.
Also commenting was the director of casino at Amaya, Sam Hobcraft who stated: “We’re pleased to extend our successful global partnership with NetEnt to the New Jersey market; integrating NetEnt’s top tier games will be an important part of developing into one of the leaders in online casino in New Jersey.”
The PokerStars launch in New Jersey is being closely monitored by gaming analysts around the world. From March 16th, up to 500 players will be allowed to download and test drive the New Jersey site. For the first two days, real money play will be limited to the hours 4pm to midnight, but from March 18th, this window widens to 8am to midnight and 24 hour access on weekends.
As noted, the official launch will be on Monday, March 21st, when all eligible players – New Jersey residents over the age of 21 – will be invited to start playing.
