MGM Pushing for Online Poker Legalization in New York

MGM Resorts is reaping serious revenue operating online poker sites in Nevada and New Jersey, and is now pushing for legalization in New York.

Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware are currently the only states with legal online poker sites in America. However, some other states like California, Illinois and even Texas are considering legalization.

While state lawmakers in New York haven’t said much about it, MGM Resorts has begun a social media campaign to raise public support for online poker there as well.

The “Let NY Play” campaign amounts to a series of Facebook pages and Twitter accounts devoted to spreading positive publicity about internet poker in the state, and is reportedly supported by MGM.

MGM lobbying the state capital

The New York Times reported that MGM has been making a case in Albany and “has no casino in New York & is not among the companies vying for one of the four casino licenses the state is preparing to grant. But MGM has made no secret of its ambition to be a big player in the expanding realm of online gambling.”

The casino saw a huge opportunity in 2011 when the Department of Justice reinterpreted American gambling laws to allow states to create and regulate their own internet casino and poker markets.

MGM currently operates poker sites in New Jersey and Nevada and believes that it could earn significant revenue with an expansion into New York.