Nevada was the first state to pass legislation legalizing online poker in the US since the United States Department of Justice passed that decision-making ability to the state level. Early on after this pro-online poker ruling, Nevada said they would possibly be able to offer actual online play for their residents and travelers in early 2013. However, Delaware recently became the second state to legalize online poker in the US, and Nevada has since been feverishly working toward ensuring they are the first state to shuffle up and deal online, aiming for 2012. To that end, Nevada gave their recommendation for the first online intrastate poker license to a marketing affiliate last week when the Nevada Gaming Control Board recommended approval for PokerTrip Enterprises Inc. of Las Vegas. That company owns marketing contracts with physical poker rooms in Las Vegas, and also operates promotional poker websites ThePokerAtlas.com and AllVegasPoker.com.

In this brave new world of legalized online poker in the United States, just about every move that Delaware or Las Vegas makes is historical. As the first Nevada online poker marketing affiliate, PokerTrip Enterprises can become the first licensed online marketing affiliate promoting poker in the United States if the Nevada Gaming Commission accepts the NGCB recommendation when they meet again on September 20. Nevada’s Gaming Commission has yet to disagree with any online poker licensing recommendation made by the NGCB, and it appears there will be rubber stamp approval here as well.

Operating as a promotional marketer trying to generate interest in and traffic flow to online poker rooms in Nevada, PokerTrip Enterprises will operate on a commission basis. Instead of sharing in poker revenue that is actually created, they are paid a fee for how much business they send to the online poker rooms in Nevada which will eventually be up and running. Because of this they were not subject to the full licensing investigation that revenue sharing online poker applicants undergo. The company’s investors and management were subjected to a licensing review, and obviously that went swimmingly well.

The Chief Executive Officer of PokerTrip is Jon Friedberg, and he stated after the announcement that the company was launched in June 2011 with seven employees. He also noted that the company plans on expansion due to the passage of online poker legislation in Nevada, and in advance of what they hope is licensing approval by the Gaming Commission. The CEO calls his company the “TripAdvisor of the poker industry.” That means that they operate as an information provider concerning poker games and tournaments, casinos, trip packages and other poker related offerings, also promoting poker events and tournaments. They drive traffic to brick-and-mortar casinos and other poker partners, and are paid a commission as an affiliate only after that traffic creates revenue.

The chairman of the state Gaming Control Board, Mark Lipparelli, pointed out that online poker operators who receive licensing in Nevada can decide whether or not to employ a marketing firm like PokerTrip, but they will not be required to do so. Because they own intrastate online poker licenses themselves, they can handle their own marketing for online poker, using pay per click advertising, search engine placements and online banner ads, as well as other traditional advertising platforms. With the go-ahead for licensing virtually guaranteed for PokerTrip Enterprises, two software testing and game labs already licensed, and several game providers already in the mix, it appears that the recent estimation of online poker as a reality in Nevada in 2012 as early as late September or early October will become a reality.

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