Following last week's announcement regarding Harrah's European aspirations, spokesman Gary Thompson stressed the company was taking seriously the possibility but had not come to any decision.
"What (Chief Executive) Gary Loveman said is that we are looking at the possibility of launching an online site outside the United States," Thompson, a spokesman for the group's World Series of Poker operation, told IGN. "We are taking a very serious look at this -- there is no question about it -- but there is no guarantee that we're going to go ahead with it."
Loveman turned heads at the 2007 Global Gaming Expo when he said he was looking at taking the WSOP Brand online outside the United States.
Rumors of Europe-focused Internet expansion are not new to the world's largest casino operator, and followed its acquisition of the WSOP brand in 2004 from Binion's Gaming. According to a November 2004 report in London's Financial Times, Harrah's Interactive and WagerWorks were planning debut a U.K.-facing WSOP Web site during Q2 2005.
Now, three years later, Harrah's may be giving it another go.
"We just don't know," Thompson said. "We're in the process of gathering information and looking at a number of different options, and until we come to a decision, there won't be any decision."
Europe would be an electronic alternative to the United States, and could be a successful one given WSOP's strength of brand. Harrah's World Series of Poker Europe debuted in September 2006, with 18-year-old Norwegian Anette Obrestead emerging the $2 million victor of the six-day Main Event.
With regard to the United States, some observers -- including the PPA's Alphonse D'Amato and Loveman himself -- believe that poker could be the first gambling product to break the regulatory barrier.
Thompson contends that getting the land-based casino and Internet gambling industries synergized is at least part of what is needed to get the U.S. government to look at regulating Internet gambling. He admits, however, that there is still resistance to change.
"I think there is still a reluctance out there on the part of some brick-and-mortar casinos to recognize that there is nothing to fear from introducing customers to online gaming," Thompson said. "It will be just like expansion of gaming in any other venue. It ultimately ends up benefiting existing properties.
"But there are still some operators who feel that it's going to be competition rather than complementary to them. So, I think if we had the regulated casino industry speaking with one voice -- and I think you're seeing some of that with the AGA (American Gaming Association) right now -- it would be very helpful."
Thompson added that some major operators, including Harrah's, have launched lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., and that these efforts, together with those of lawmakers who have introduced regulatory bills in Congress, may effect change in the U.S. legal landscape.