Nevada first to offer online poker in U.S.?

The chances of playing online poker in the United States took a step forwards on Thursday when the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) adopted rules that will allow companies to apply for an intrastate poker website license. This has put the state in pole position to capitalise on any potential change in internet gambling laws that are currently being discussed by Congress. A recent report estimated that the U.S. online poker market would have a revenue of $5 billion and could become a reality in 2013.

A number of companies are already believed to have applied for licenses should regulations be passed. They include casino operators Caesars Entertainment Corp. and Boyd Gaming Corp., along with equipment manufacturers Cantor Gaming and Bally Technologies. The new titles would be joined onto the licenses of companies that already operate within Nevada, whilst newcomers would face a delay of several months during the vetting process. To be granted one of the licenses the companies would have to show that their product could not only maintain the current age restriction on gambling, but also prove that it would only be available to state residents.

Operators would be able to use celebrity endorsements for marketing purposes to their website but would have to establish procedures to detect money laundering, fraud and other criminal activities. In addition to this, a cash reserve would have to be built to complement customer deposits.

The regulations were unanimously approved 4-0 by the members of the Gaming Commission present (John Moran Jr. didn’t attend) after a 90 minute discussion of the proposed changes. Gaming industry representatives unsurprisingly applauded the vote and will now focus their efforts on getting a bill passed through Congress to counter the current federal Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) that prohibits payments from being made for online wagering, with only a couple of exceptions.