GVC Holdings win Nevada gaming license, but it comes with a ‘leash’

Nevada’s online poker players may finally get a second option after PartyPoker’s parent company GVC Holdings was granted a local gaming license.

On Thursday, the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) unanimously approved the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s recommendation that GVC be awarded a state gaming license. However, the license is limited to two years, in part due to the confrontational tone of the NGCB hearing into GVC’s application earlier this month.

That early May hearing featured NGCB members pressing GVC execs, including CEO Kenny Alexander, on the company’s controversial grey/black-market history in markets such as Turkey. GVC did brisk business in Turkey but jettisoned the operation in 2017 over fears that its Turkish presence might complicate its planned acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral Group.

By most accounts, Alexander didn’t respond well to being upbraided by the NGCB but he opened Thursday’s hearing by apologizing to NGCB directors. GVC chairman Lee Feldman also apologized while saying the company had upgraded its compliance approach and structure to address the regulators’ concerns.