Shuffle Master this week received its license from the Nevada Gaming Commission, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports.

The license will give the company status as a certified gaming provider, paving the way for entering the soon-to-be-opened Nevada online gambling market.

Shuffle Master will be the third company to receive a license after slot machine suppliers IGT and Bally Technologies were given the nod last month.

All in all, more than 30 of the biggest gaming companies in the state have applied for licenses with the state's Control Board.

The process has also attracted some of the biggest online gambling companies in the world in a number of strategis partnerships, including bwin.party and 888 Holding, who have teamed up with MGM and Caesars respectively.

The next step in the process will now be for Shuffle Master to have its systems tested by a number of independent labs before the final authorization is given.

But already, the approved license has given the company a solid head start to competing in the market, as it is now essentially ready to offer real-money games to Nevada citizens.

Bookmaker Paddy Power was also in talks with the Gaming Commission yesterday. Paddy Power does not operate in Nevada, but received a two-year "preliminary finding of suitability", allowing the Irish company to investigate its opportunities in the state on closer hold.