GamblingCity.net recently reported that Donald Trump is preparing to get in on the ground floor of the online casino market in the U.S., when and if online gambling is formally legalized.

This week other major players in the online and offline casino market have joined in on the action as a joint venture has been announced between MGM Resorts, bwin.party and Boyd Gaming Corp. The purpose of this joint venture is to create an online poker company to operate in the U.S. market if and when changes in legislation allow it.

This merger brings together MGM Resorts, one of the largest land-based casino corporations in the U.S. and Bwin.party who is responsible for the brands like Bwin, Bwin Poker, PartyPoker and the World Poker Tour. In this venture, MGM and Boyd would be responsible for offering online poker to American players and Bwin.party would be responsible for the actual online poker room operations.

The group is positioning itself to roll out their online poker room either state-by-state or countrywide, depending on whether legislation is enacted on the state or federal levels.

Jim Ryan, the CEO of bwin.party said: “It's all about preparing for the eventual opening of the market. There's been an awful lot of momentum at the state and federal levels… Our strategy has been designed to address any and all legislative outcomes, whether federal or state-by-state. We are particularly excited to be working with MGM and Boyd. Combining their significant assets and regulatory expertise with the strength of our PartyPoker and World Poker Tour brands, all supported by our in-house technology, makes us perfectly positioned for any future opening of the US online poker market.”

Jim Murren, the CEO of MGM Resorts said, “MGM has long been supportive of Federal legislation to strengthen UIGEA and provide the needed regulations and consumer protections for online poker. MGM is proud to have bwin.party as our partner as they have the assets and experience that, combined with our brands, can ensure a secure, fair and entertaining online poker experience.”

This latest joint venture announcement comes close on the heels of a similar announcement from Trump. Stay tuned to GamblingCity.net news for more updates in the discussion around possible changes in U.S. legislation to open up the market on the state or federal levels.