It has become increasingly clear in recent years that we can expect online poker legislation to come down, either on the state level, or on the federal level. There are many different situations that companies and regulatory bodies are planning for. Although, many regulatory bodies feel that state legislation is going to come down first, there is also some movement in several areas of the federal government that show that perhaps we can expect federal legislation to come down at some point. In preparation for this, the governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval, has asked state legislators to act within the next 30 days on an assembly bill that would allow the state to join other states and offer online gambling programs. Of course, with Nevada being the center for gambling in the United States, it almost comes as an expectation that they will be able to pass the legislation, which would generate huge tax dollars for the state when passed.
The bill would permit the governor to enter into agreements with other states. This would allow online poker and would repeal an existing law that would bar interstate gaming until the federal laws passed. It would be certainly interesting to see whether not state laws would be able to acton their own for a period of time. The bill would permit the governor to enter into agreements that would act in the best interest of the state. It is clear that Gov. Brian Sandoval would like these laws to be passed now, rather than later, in order to avoid this federal legislation that is expected to come down at some point over the course of the next two years. It is also clear that he would like Nevada to be the leading state in online gambling, just as they were in physical gambling in previous years.
In the message that was delivered to the legislator, Gov. Brian Sandoval stated, “Nevada has always been the gold standard of both gaming regulation and agreements, and I intend to see to it that our state will lead the world into this new frontier.”
The state has already released a total of 20 licenses to a variety of different casinos and companies that would allow them to conduct online poker within the state of Nevada. However, none of the computer systems that these systems are going to be running on have been approved by the state of this time. It will be interesting to see if these laws are approved moving forward, and whether or not the Nevada Gaming Control Board is going to run into federal legislation that could limit their ability to appropriately legislate these issues.
It is clear that Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval would like for the state legislature to act swiftly on online gambling, and begin to allow more companies to receive licenses, give him the ability to make deals with other states, and allow the software that the systems are going to be running on to be approved. It will be certainly interesting to see how this plays out moving forward.