Rumours have been rife for quite some time regarding the US Senate potentially legalising online poker. The move would be a particularly welcome one across the industry however, hopes have failed to materialize into reality for far too long. The latest news of Bwin-Party signing a deal with casino operators MGM and Boyd Gaming to provide online services, if legislation legalising online poker is passed, is however raising hopes once more that a change in US gambling law is just around the corner.

Although the prospect of the US passing legislation may not be immediate due to the authorities drag netting anyone who might be connected with the now tainted and disgraced online poker company Full Tilt, the deal in question has been enough to encourage investor interest and the share price has now risen to 10%.

These most recent reports have a touch more credence than usual as a selection of major influencing US investors are now beginning to settle themselves in for a liberalisation of the rules. There have also been suggestions that Bwin, one of the world's most successful names in online betting and real money gaming, and fellow leading online gaming company 888 could be set for fight in order to gain traction in the US market.

There are many reasons for this, notably, American business magnate Donald Trump has penned an agreement with American billionaire, hedge fund manager and co-founder and chief executive officer of hedge fund Avenue Capital Group, Marc Lasry, not to compete against one another in a potential online venture. This agreement also happens side by side with an announcement from the former casino executive of U.S. Digital Gaming, Richard Bronson who expects a "domino effect" to happen after the first state legalizes online poker. It seems the big boys are starting to take notice.

All eyes are on the US right now for the break in the industry that everybody has been waiting for. No more time for speculations based on rumours. A seemingly never-ending regulatory limbo caused by governments trying to come to an agreement on the most productive way to police the proposed new law and make its activities legal has loomed over any definite decision as yet, however there is still hope.