On Tuesday, May 24, 2011, the Senate Judiciary Committee in Nevada gave the go-ahead for a bill to set up provisions in terms of governing the operation and licensing of Internet poker within the state.
A sponsor of Assembly Bill 258, William Horner, stated at a hearing in Carson City that, “The genie is out of the bottle in terms of online gambling. There is a great need for regulation. Nobody is going to do it better than Nevada.”
The Bill
The bill signifies that if Congress ever passes an Internet gambling bill or if online gaming is stated as allowed by federal law by the US Department of Justice, the Nevada Gaming Commission will be able to introduce controls and give out licenses to casino who want to provide online poker.
An amendment made to the bill was concerning tax. It was to stop both the state and the federal government demanding tax from the industry. It was agreed that the state would not be allowed to have a 6.75 percent gross gaming tax, should the federal government impose its own tax.
The bill put forward that regulators would need to set specific licensing fees in order to offer interactive gaming. Licensing fees would also be required for manufacturers and any equipment used for this form of gaming.
A resort would be able to apply for a license for offering interactive gaming as long as they have had a non-restricted license for at least as long as five years before their application is put forward.
For players, the bill also stated that regulators would have to lay down controls which would protect players, stop any form of fraud, prevent minors from playing, and control problem gambling.
The Present Situation
At the moment, the USA is basically losing out on a billion dollar business venture. Other countries worldwide where it is legal are raking it in. Currently, there is no federal law which stops a state from legalizing online poker as long as it is only within its own borders.
Banks and other financial organizations were prevented from processing any gambling transactions which occurred between states by a federal law in 2006. A framework was also put forward by the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act for legalizing gambling within a state. It stated that intrastate online gambling is not unlawful if it has legalized by that state.
The Next Steps
This week the bill is set to go to the full Senate for a vote. After this, it will go back to the Assembly so that they can approve any amendments made.
Ever since Black Friday on April 15th of this year, the future of online gaming looked rocky. Many sites were blocked for players in the USA.
Then, on Monday, May 23, 2011, Rod Rosenstein, the US Attorney for the District of Maryland, Baltimore, took hold of 11 bank accounts and a further ten site domains. But, Frank Fahrenkopf, the American Gaming Association’s CEO, stated that this was a “half measure” and further regulations are needed.