World Poker Fund Holdings (WPFH), the poker and entertainment business backed by rapper Soulja Boy, has hired Martin Owens to advise the company as it looks to expand into the online gaming sector.
Owens has joined the WPFH Online and Interactive Gaming Committee as its chief advisor as it looks to establish relationships with Native American tribes in order to assist in the development of internet poker and iGaming platforms under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA).
The company will also look to aid tribes in raising funding to petition for federal recognition and to establish casino operations.
A lawyer by trade, Owens has specialised in online gaming law since 1998, and is the co-author of Internet Gaming Law, an associate editor of Gaming Law Review and Economics, and a contributing editor to TheSportsNetwork.com.
“This is a very exciting project,” Owens said. “The players, the technology, the platforms are all coming together right here in California. It’s time to bring online poker up to its full potential, in the USA and all over the world.”
As well as looking to develop relationships with Indian tribes, WPFH ultimately plans to offer an online poker product to California residents once regulation passes.
Currently it is working on the development of non-cash multi-table poker tournaments to select land-based players who will then compete in land-based cash tournaments sponsored by WPFH. It has also licensed poker-themed reality TV shows such as Poker Boss and America Loves Poker, and co-owns the World Poker Channel and the LookHu.com streaming service.
The likes of American football player De’Anthony Thomas, music producer Poo Bear, Miss Vietnam Michelle Wu and TV personality Cladia Jordan will participate in the televised TV show tournaments.
source : www.gamingintelligence.com
