Can a gambling website go legit by buying an Atlantic City casino?
Skift Take
To simply say that this is likely the most legit organization to purchase an Atlantic City casino is likely saying very, very nice things about previous owners in A.C.
Online global gambling giant PokerStars will face intense regulatory scrutiny when its parent company seeks approval to buy the struggling Atlantic Club Casino Hotel.
The proposed deal represents the first time in Atlantic City that an Internet gambling company would join up with a brick-and-mortar casino, giving a glimpse of the future in the emerging field of online wagering in the United States.
PokerStars' past, however, may ultimately determine whether PokerStars' parent company, the Rational Group, gets to take over the Atlantic Club, industry officials said.
In July, PokerStars agreed to pay $547 million to the U.S. Justice Department and $184 million to poker players overseas to settle a case -- including charges of money laundering, bank fraud and illegal gambling -- stemming from its online betting operations. PokerStars, the world's largest online poker operator, admitted no guilt or wrongdoing in the settlement.
The Justice Department settlement cleared the way for PokerStars to enter the U.S. market and begin taking online bets once Internet gambling is legalized in the United States. However, parent company Rational Club still needs a New Jersey license to buy the Atlantic Club.
Analysts say the Division of Gaming Enforcement and the Casino Control Commission, the New Jersey agencies that regulate Atlantic City's $3 billion casino industry, will undoubtedly focus on PokerStars' run-in with the Justice Department while considering the Atlantic Club's sale.
"This is why the New Jersey regulators, when they scrutinize the Atlantic Club sale, will take a more in-depth look and pay attention to the Department
