Online Poker Coming to Nevada?

While the long term fate of online poker in the United States and other countries around the world awaits the slow and tedious process of governmental regulation.....There is good news for residents of the State of Nevada, including those in Las Vegas. The State of Nevada may be acting to legalize online 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.

The Gaming Control Board has closely followed the development of software technology to locate and identity all gamblers using internet access to gaming sites; as well as age and identity verification technology. They are as aware as anyone that the necessary computer systems are available to control and regulate online gaming. While the Federal legislative process has dragged over the past year the State legislature has not pursued the idea of legal online gaming in Nevada, at least not until now.

Nevada regulators did fund a study by the International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Preliminary findings appear to give a positive expectation that Nevada may step out and legalize online poker. Being a State that relies on casino gaming for a large tax base, Nevada also is in a unique position to innovate with online gaming. As a State Gaming Board member has said:

"It's historically been policy of the state of Nevada to regulate gaming so that we can protect patrons and make sure they get paid when they win."

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.

The full UNLV study is to be released before the end of 2007 and could spark a series of legislative proposals in the Nevada legislature.