Online gambling giant bwin.party is already preparing to the eventuality that online poker will become legal in the US. The company just expanded its partnership agreement with MGM International Resorts and Boyd Gaming.

If online poker will become legal in the US, then bwin.party will probably become one of the first companies to provide online poker services. The venture just expanded its business agreement with the American entertainment companies MGM and Boyd Gaming.

A bwin.party announcement a few days ago explained the following:

"While there is no certainty that online poker legislation will be enacted in the US, bwin.party is preparing to enter into a preliminary suitability review in the State of Nevada."

It was also explained that the agreement between bwin.party, MGM and Boyd Gaming will only come into effect if online poker will become legalized in the US. The agreement covers several points of the business relationship between these three corporations.

One of the principal points of the agreement states that if online poker will become legal in the US, then the three above mentioned companies will jointly create a new US online poker venture. bwin.party will own 65% of the company, while MGM will own 25% and Boyd the remaining 10%.

According to the deal, bwin.party will also provide its principal online poker brands, PartyPoker and World Poker Tour along with a poker platform and any additional technical requirements. The agreement also states that the new company will provide only safe, fare and secure online poker games to players.

In case online poker will be regulated on a state by state basis, then a stand-alone company will be created in order to be able to adjust it according to the requirements of each State. It has not been revealed how the share percentages will be divided in this case.

bwin.party co-CEOs Jim Ryan and Norbert Teufelberger commented the following:

"Our strategy has been designed to address any and all legislative outcomes, whether federal or state-by-state. We are particularly excited to be working with MGM and Boyd."

Many experts believe that online poker might soon become legal in the US. When exactly this will happen and in which form is currently unknown. There is also a chance that it might not become legalized in the end, but despite this, many major poker companies are already preparing to move into the big US market.

Tags: bwin.party, US Online Gambling Legislation, USA, MGM Resorts