Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma delays real-money PokerTribe.com launch

The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma has delayed the launch of its real-money online poker site by two-and-a-half months.

On Monday, the tribe issued a statement saying the planned Aug. 1 real-money launch of PokerTribe.com had been pushed back until Oct. 15. The delay was blamed on the need to “coordinate with foreign governments on the worldwide launch” of the real-money site.

PokerTribe launched as a free-play site in May and Iowa Tribe chairman Bobby Walkup claimed to be “pleased with the progress” the site had made toward its real-money goal. Oklahoma’s governor and federal courts have okayed the tribe’s plan to offer online gambling services to residents of other countries.

The delay is said to be necessary for the tribe and its technology partner Universal Entertainment Group (UEG) to “finalize the international country by country gaming licensees and international merchant processing banking.” The message claimed that the site would eventually offer banking services from Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and “our European banking partners.”