New Jersey gaming regulators will be passing on PokerStars’ attempts to break into the US online gambling market because of ongoing Black Friday-related litigation.
According to a recently published report in Poker Player Newspaper, NJ’s Division of Gaming Enforcement is reluctant to grant a license to the company because of an outstanding case against its founder, Ira Scheinberg.
Scheinberg is one of just two of the original ten Black Friday defendants whose cases remain unresolved. PokerStars was clearly hoping to do an end run around Scheinberg’s troubles by installing his son Mark in the company’s top slot.
Of course PokerStars also shelled out around $750 million to the Federal Government as part of their deal to purchase Full Tilt Poker.
That deal, however, doesn’t seem to matter much in the NJ where gambling industry trade groups have been fighting hard to make certain PokerStars’ parent company, the Rational Group, is frozen out of the market entirely.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) pursued some very aggressive legal tactics last summer to block Rational’s purchase of the floundering Atlantic Club Hotel and Casino. By the looks of things, those efforts have had a lasting impact in the Garden State.