Notably, the announced deals only cover online poker, even though Bwin.party has strong online casino offerings.
FORBES: MGM Resorts Strikes Online Poker Deal With Bwin.Party
Microgaming Software Systems, based in the Isle of Man, created the world's first online casino 20 years ago.
That means Second Life is as susceptible to gambling laws as any other online casino, says Sean Kane, an attorney and author of the forthcoming book The Law of Video Games and the Virtual World.
And last month, Sportingbet confirmed it was in takeover talks with internet poker and casino site promoter Empire Online.
The MGM deal, which is contingent on a regulatory regime being established for online poker on either the federal or state level, helps define the competitive landscape as casino companies get ready to enter the online gambling business in the U.S. Boyd Gaming also announced on Monday that it has entered into an online poker alliance with Bwin.party.
FORBES: MGM Resorts Strikes Online Poker Deal With Bwin.Party
"I think it will be a domino effect, " said Richard Bronson, a former casino executive who now owns a firm pushing for online-gambling legislation in statehouses.
The company noted that its international and online businesses were doing well, but lower casino revenues in the U.S., particularly in Atlantic City, weighed down its earnings.
FORBES: Caesars Blames Slowing Economy For A Nasty Second Quarter
The Atlantic Club casino would serve as a beachhead for PokerStars to reenter the online U.S. market, which remains the single most lucrative online poker market in the world.
With billionaires and casino companies rushing to get ready for the potential of regulated online gambling in America, MGM Resorts on Monday announced an online poker alliance with Bwin.party digital entertainment, which owns PartyPoker, the second-biggest online poker service in the world, and the World Poker Tour.
FORBES: MGM Resorts Strikes Online Poker Deal With Bwin.Party
Late last year the online poker industry almost managed to squeeze through legislation that would have regulated online poker in the U.S. after the casino companies in Las Vegas decided to back the effort, tired of sitting on the sidelines and watching companies like PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker earn hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the large U.S. market.
FORBES: Billionaire Steve Wynn Makes Big Online Poker Bet With PokerStars
Along with Nevada, which approved online poker, and New Jersey and Delaware, where other casino gambling passed as well, four states have pending legislation.
Speculation has been running high that Zynga would move into online gambling particularly with its Zynga Poker game and its recently announced Casino series of games.
FORBES: Zynga Finds Online Gambling 'Very Interesting' [Earnings Call]
Zynga is also applying for a gaming licence in Nevada, home of Las Vegas, in order to offer players a new suite of casino-style games on which they can bet real money, in conjunction with the online gambling firm Bwin.
Unlike the plethora of other Massively Multiplayer Online games, however, Chumba World is tapping into the explosive growth of social casino gaming by letting users customize a full suite of games, and even build and manage their own casinos for real-world income.
FORBES: 'Chumba World' Lets Social Gambling Enthusiasts Build Virtual Casinos For Real-World Income
The state's big casino operators argue a state-by-state approach creates pools of players that are too small to have enough online games going at any given time and also might allow some states to implement subpar regulatory standards.
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