I was just curious what the legal barriers are to NV/DE adding NJ to the shared player pool, is this something we could expect to happen in the nearish future? One would think having a bigger player base and better access to games would be mutually beneficial given the low (and similar) traffic volume both regions have at the moment.

The pool in DE and NV is limited to WSOP only, correct?

What would happen to Party Poker/Borgata (NJ)? Would NV/DE players be allowed to play on those sites, even though those sites have no counterparts in NV/DE? I doubt NV wants Party in the picture.

And even if NJ grants PokerStars a license, there is no way they get into NV because of a pool.

Yes the NV/DE pool is WSOP only. I can see how all the operators in NJ would have differing incentives to allow pooling / not and there would be complications around which sites would share a player pool.

That said, I think all the legal US sites are all doing quite poorly revenue wise (and can't offer a comparable experience to Bovada due to a lack of player base) so it seems like they might be in a position where they should be pretty open to anything that might generate a more sustainable player base, but I guess the complications around how to share the potential gains may be too great to overcome.

There are three layers of approval for player pooling:

1. Regulators
2. Network Platform Operators
3. Licensed Branded Sites

In NV, only the licensed casinos are allowed to brand the sites to the public.

In NJ, both the licensed casinos and the Network Platform Operators are allowed to have branded sites to the public under the licenses granted to the casinos.

In DE, only the three racinos are allowed to have branded sites, under the DE Lottery umbrella.

It took some time for the regulators in NJ to grant approval for player pooling between the branded sites on the same platform in NJ (e.g., BorgataPoker-PartyPoker; WSOP-888poker).

IIRC, for awhile WSOP and 888Poker stayed unpooled in NJ at the choice of Caesars even after the regulators allowed pooling. Eventually they came to their senses. I think the delay may have been due to Caesar's original plan to develop a proprietary poker platform to replace 888poker.

Once the regulators in NV & DE agreed on an interstate compact for player pooling, the sites in DE starting pooling their players with WSOP in NV, which is also on the 888poker platform. Since they only had to deal with one network platform, it was a lot easier for the regulators to compact for it than to do it with NJ.

Probably the biggest barrier for player pooling between NV and NJ is their adversarial relationship. Each want to compete to get the business of other states, i.e. have their casinos be the poker site providers in other states, for a fee.

The good news is that there are no legal impediments to states joining together, aside from their own legal barriers. In other words, they don't require permission from Congress or federal-level licensing. They do have to meet UIGEA requirements, which are basic ones such as ensuring age verification is in place (as instate-only sites must).

nj.gov/governor/news/news/552017/approved/20171013b.html