Ontario’s new online market, set to launch April 4, has added another licensee to the list of international operators. GGPoker’s parent company, NSUS Limited, has received an online gaming license to operate in the Canadian province.
However, the domain it has registered for operating under this new license is not GGPoker, but the World Series of Poker, through a new WSOP.ca skin. This suggests that WSOP could be planning to launch regulated online poker in Ontario using GGPoker software instead of its long-term partner, 888.
An active listing from Ontario’s Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) shows the newly listed approval for wsop.ca via NSUS Ltd.
The World Series of Poker and GGPoker have been partners since 2020, with the aim to bring online WSOP bracelet events to an international audience. In 2020 and 2021, a slate of US-only bracelet events was offered on WSOP.com, accompanied by an international-only series of WSOP bracelet events, but offered instead on GGPoker.
The latest deal adds to the increasing synergy between the WSOP and GGPoker in the online-poker niche, with further developments expected.
GGPoker is the sixth Ontario iGaming licensee so far, joining 888poker, which announced its licensing last week. Neither GGPoker nor the WSOP has confirmed its license approval from AGCO, but both companies appear in the second grouping of three AGCO-approved licensees, along with lottery firm Annexio.
The first three iGaming license approvals went to sportsbook firms PointBet, Rivalry Corp., and theScore Bet (affiliated with Penn National Gaming). PokerStars parent Flutter Entertainment also appears elsewhere within AGCO’s multi-category listings, but has not been approved for an iGaming license.
Online games regulated in Ontario, which are expected to go live April 4, allow licensed operators to offer online poker, casino games and sports betting. So far, WSOP/GGPoker and 888 are the first two poker operators to receive such authorization.
Online poker in Ontario will be separated from the rest of the world. Although it was recently reported that the regulator had explored interstate pacts that would allow cross-border shared liquidity, it is not expected to be ready by next month.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2022/03/07/61673-ggpoker-owner-gets-ontario-igaming-license-to-launch-wsopca-poker-site
