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AGA Opposes PokerStars NJ License

The Atlantic Club Casino in Atlantic City

The American Gaming Association (AGA) is attempting to block PokerStars’ attempts to purchase the Atlantic Club Casino in New Jersey.

In a brief filed with the both the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Casino Control Commission, the AGA said granting the online poker giant an Atlantic City casino would, “send a damaging message to the world of gaming.”

In the the scathing brief AGA attorneys went on to say:

The integrity of the gaming industry would be gravely compromised by any regulatory approvals of PokerStars, a business built on deceit, chicanery and the systematic flouting of U.S. law. New Jersey’s law and regulatory tradition mandate denial of this petition.

A representative for the Rational Group, PokerStars’ parent company, responded by saying, “These are matters for expert regulators to determine, not self-interested partisans picking a public fight.”

Several NJ politicians came out in support of PokerStars and suggested that local casino owners were behind the effort to freeze the company out of a newly opened, and potentially very lucrative, online gambling market.

While there’s no reason to doubt the AGA’s intentions, this is the first time the trade group has intervened in a licensing fight of any kind.

Do you think PokerStars’ past should prevent them from getting an NJ license? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.