A coalition of California tribes and card rooms known as COPA (California Online Poker Association) have signed a deal with Playtech to offer online poker to residents of California.
Currently play for money online poker is not regulated in the US, and players have to jump through numerous hoops to be able to play. Despite this, many companies are betting on legalisation or regulation being just around the corner - either on a federal or state level.
The deal, signed this week, will see Playtech joining forces with Scientific Games Corporation in a joint venture to be known as Sciplay. At first only play for fun poker will be offered, with the intention of laying the ground work and establishing a potential player base for real money online poker should legalisation happen.
Playtech had to fight off a number of bids, including a bid from bwin.party (owners of Party Poker). Unsurprisingly, the announcement saw Playtechs share price surge by around 10%.
