With South Point Hotel and Casino apparently poised perfectly to provide online poker for the first time in the United States legally as an extension of the US Department of Justice flip-flop in late 2011, recent news regarding GEObet has caught online poker enthusiasts unaware. In a press release recently, the GEObet Gambling Network has announced that they are 100% ready to launch an online poker room entity for several Native American tribal casinos that will allow pay for play wagering. By operating with Native American tribal casinos, GEObet Gambling does not need to secure a Nevada interactive gaming license such as the one South Point Hotel and Casino received back in August of this year.

In many states, Native American Indian tribes are recognized as separate entities from federal and state governments. Many operate brick-and-mortar casinos, and while everyone was watching Nevada and Delaware since they were the first two states to pass legislation allowing online poker, GEObet snuck in, and has immediately moved to the front of the online gambling pack. CEO Gerry Gionet stated in the press release that his company is “helping Native American tribes to fulfill a natural extension of their rights” on their sovereign lands with the next logical gambling step of offering online poker in their land-based casinos.

He went on to note that as the competition between major players in physical casino businesses continues to increase, smart casino owners can enter a new and relatively competition free online gambling environment currently. Gionet also stated that his company will help casino groups bring their businesses online regardless where they are located in the United States, and that “tribal gaming has the right to protect its interests” by competing with state and private casino groups both online and off.

In most cases in the past, the various and separate Native American tribes with casino interests have not been able to agree on revenue shares and other important tenets of a collective agreement. But it is the intention of GEObet Gambling to bring several Native American tribes together so they could share each other’s player pools and progressive online jackpots. This would not only create a larger financial situation for the Native American tribes involved, but would also give the online player a common and consistent user interface and larger jackpots.

Gionet also stated that the eventual goal of his company is to create “the largest gaming force in the world,” opening up tribal gaming to a global audience and allowing Native American Indian tribes access to the potentially profitable financial windfall that online gambling provides. He also noted that in the past Indian operated casinos generally received the greatest part of their profits from those players within a short car ride of tribal lands. Obviously, the World Wide Web allows global access that would extend the reach of any online poker rooms. He also pointed out that employment and technical education benefits would be extended to tribal lands, developing high-tech jobs and services.