A number of companies are already believed to have applied for licenses should regulations be passed. They include casino operators Caesars Entertainment Corp. and Boyd Gaming Corp., along with equipment manufacturers Cantor Gaming and Bally Technologies. The new titles would be joined onto the licenses of companies that already operate within Nevada, whilst newcomers would face a delay of several months during the vetting process. To be granted one of the licenses the companies would have to show that their product could not only maintain the current age restriction on gambling, but also prove that it would only be available to state residents.

Operators would be able to use celebrity endorsements for marketing purposes to their website but would have to establish procedures to detect money laundering, fraud and other criminal activities. In addition to this, a cash reserve would have to be built to complement customer deposits.

The regulations were unanimously approved 4-0 by the members of the Gaming Commission present (John Moran Jr. didn’t attend) after a 90 minute discussion of the proposed changes. Gaming industry representatives unsurprisingly applauded the vote and will now focus their efforts on getting a bill passed through Congress to counter the current federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that prohibits payments from being made for online wagering, with only a couple of exceptions.

Bodog announced in a press statement: “The Bodog brand is confident MMGG’s customer account information and funds will continue to remain safe and secure, as it has done since MMGG entered its original agreement with the Bodog Brand in 2006 and we would like to wish MMGG the greatest success in its new venture.”

A message on the Bovada site states that: “Bovada offers American players the opportunity to bet on all major sports, industry leading poker software, over 120 casino games, and top North American horseracing tracks.” The company operates out of Canada and holds a Kahnawake license.

eGR has reported that Facebook have already held exploratory talks with a number of U.K. operators with a view to launching as early as the first quarter of 2012. They have reportedly begun the process of hiring staff for the launch and among the companies said to be a part of the discussions for the eight licenses up for grabs are 888 Holdings and Gamesys.

Zynga Poker is currently on offer for Facebook users and has over 30 million monthly players, though they only play for virtual money – no real cash is involved. Their general manager, Lo Toney, said in November that Zynga Poker had no interest in going after real-money space.

In another interesting move, Facebook recently amended it’s previously unequivocal policy on not allowing any form of online gambling to be advertised on it’s site to “ads that promote or facilitate online gambling, games of skill or lotteries, including online casino, sports books, bingo, or poker, are only allowed in specific countries with prior authorization from Facebook.”

Further developments in this story are expected within the next 48 hours when a formal statement by 888 Holdings is due to be released.

In a statement by FTP, their co-founder and CEO, Ray Bitar said: “I am extremely pleased with the efforts of the Department of Justice, and the Groupe Bernard Tapie corporation, and appreciate their continued dedication in working towards a mutually beneficial agreement that will facilitate repayment of the players .”

As the agreement between FTP/GBT and the DOJ has now been reached, the parties involved will be able to concentrate on hammering out the finer points of their agreement and close the matter at the earliest date possible.

In a related story, Congress has had a couple of committee hearings in the US and both were generally in favour of some sort of regulation. Even Sen. Jon Kyl, a former opponent of introducing any kind of bill that would allow for online poker, is rumoured to be considering co-sponsoring a bill. Details of the subcommittee meeting can be found [html] here[/html].

Scheduled to be the biggest Sunday Million ever, qualifiers from just $1 are already running and new players can get a 100% First Deposit Bonus up to $600!

As part of the Road to 100 Billion promotion, PokerStars rewards players in the build up to each 10 billionth hand by paying out cash to anyone sat at the table that every millionth hand is dealt at. Starting at hand 69,700,000,000 players will have a great chance of winning a cash bonus for playing real money ring games. The lucky person that wins the 70 billionth mega milestone hand will be guaranteed at least $70,000 in cash.

To improve your chances of being dealt into a milestone hand PokerStars recommends the following:

Multi-table: The more tables you are seated at, the greater your chance of being dealt into a milestone hand.

Play for longer: Cash prizes during milestone hands are awarded based on the amount of VIP Player Points (VPPs) earned during your time at that table, and you accumulate VPPs each time you play a raked hand on a ring game table. That means the more you play at a specific table, the more money you can potentially win.

Play action-packed games: Games like Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha often create lots of fast action, so playing on this type of table means you can earn VPPs at a faster rate.

If you don’t already have a PokerStars account sign up through this link and get yourself a 100% First Deposit Bonus up to $600!