Three major companies have reason for joy this week, as the Nevada Gaming Control Board issued a recommendation that they be granted intrastate online poker licenses.

The three are Boyd Gaming, Golden Nugget and Fertitta Interactive who now need to wait for the Nevada Gaming Commission&s consideration and approval of the applications, which is expected to happen at its October 18 meeting.

The Boyd Group seeks licensing as both an operator and a service provider, Golden Nugget, which has teamed up with Bally Technologies, will together with their partner have operator and service provider licenses, while Fertitta Interactive wants operator and service provider licensing through its Ultimate Gaming brand.

At the moment, there are eight companies with licenses approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission.