No Online Gambling for Nevada

As previously reported, the state of Nevada has been studying the possibility of creating an online gaming portal that would include poker.

"Long before the US Federal government passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA), the State of Nevada was looking into the legalization and regulation of online gaming. The Nevada Legislature as early as 2003 tasked the Nevada Gaming Control Board with studying the question of Internet gambling and State regulation."

Nevada regulators funded a study by the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The recently released report states again that Nevada is clearly the most favorable jurisdiction in the US to make new policy regarding online gaming. The experience of Nevada regulators is by far the most advanced and seasoned in the US.

However, the study also found that barely 3% of Nevada residents actually used gaming sites in the past 12 months. This number, which is much lower than previous studies in other US States, is attributed to the easy access to casino gaming in Nevada.

It was determined that the potential for a profitable online gaming site was simply not supported by the hard numbers when it came to a Nevada residents-only business model. Whether future intiatives involving other States might be more economically feasible was not a question addressed in the UNLV study.

So for now, there will be no Nevada based online poker sites.