Caesars Entertainment announced on Tuesday that it has closed the sale of its rights for World Series of Poker (WSOP) to the NSUS Group.
The $500 million deal was first announced in August. Caesars will receive $250 million in cash and a $250 million promissory note due five years after the transaction’s closing.
Caesars will continue to be able to utilize the WSOP branding for certain purposes, including its US-facing online poker network.
The implications for the Canadian poker scene are potentially more interesting. Unlike in the US, Ontario’s WSOP.com poker site runs on technology from GGPoker, NSUS’s flagship brand. The two have been working together since 2022, but we may see changes to the product now that it’s fully under NSUS control.
Caesars to still host WSOP tournament series
Despite the sale, Caesars has retained the right from NSUS to host the flagship WSOP live tournament series at its Las Vegas casinos for the next 20 years.
It will also receive a license from NSUS to continue operating its recently upgraded WSOP online real-money business the following states:
- Michigan
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- Pennsylvania
While that can continue for the foreseeable future in those states, restrictions will be made otherwise to restrict peer-to-peer real-money poker operations elsewhere.
Brick-and-mortar poker rooms currently operated by Caesars will continue to feature WSOP branding. Caesars destinations will also continue to get preferential rights to host live WSOP Circuit events moving forward.
That includes Caesars Windsor, which features a poker room within its gaming floor.
GGPoker working with WSOP in Ontario since 2022
NSUS has been part of several ventures in the poker world. That includes GGPoker.
Announced with the finalized transaction is that several WSOP executives will be transitioning to leadership roles within the NSUS team. That includes:
- Ty Stewart – Chief Executive Officer
- Gregory Chocon – Chief Operating Officer
- Erik Eidissen – Communications Manager
These three will be aiding the next phase of growth under the new ownership of NSUS.
NSUS plans to integrate GGPoker’s technology to create a strong future for the WSOP brand, allowing it to expand globally.
GGPoker has already been a prominent online poker platform globally, including Ontario. In the province, it utilizes a WSOP skin already through their 2022 partnership.
Last March, a WSOP circuit event was brought to the Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto through cooperation with GGPoker.
Court of Appeals to hear on out-of-province poker play
Ontario could be seeing some more big online poker news in the future.
The province’s Court of Appeals is set to hear a reference in Toronto that would potentially open the doors to residents playing online games and betting with players located outside of Ontario.
The refence in question that was posed to the court states:
“Would legal online gaming and sports betting remain lawful under the Criminal Code if its users were permitted to participate in games and betting involving individuals outside of Canada as described in the attached Schedule? If not, to what extent?”
The Ontario Court of Appeals will hear the refence from Nov. 26-28 in Toronto.
