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Internet Poses Questions for Nevada Regulators
Internet gambling poses questions for Nevada regulators
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevadans won't be able to legally gamble from their home computers any time soon, state regulators said Thursday.
That's because Internet gambling poses too many legal, technical and public policy questions to determine how it should be regulated, said Dennis Neilander, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
"There are as many questions as there are answers," he said after a presentation to the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Legal concerns abound, including whether other states that outlaw gambling, such as Tennessee, could prosecute a Nevada casino operator if a Tennessee resident was caught gambling on a Nevada-based Web site, Bobby Siller, Gaming Control Board member said.
Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard said his concerns also include state regulators' ability to oversee and enforce Nevada licensees' Internet gambling operations.
"Now we're going to have to spread our enforcement mechanisms throughout the world," he said.
Neilander suggested casino operators would have to be able to provide "souped up" equipment to provide ongoing and "real time" monitoring of Web casino games.
Though technology to determine the location and identity of an online bettor exists, Siller added that it is too expensive to assemble a system to give regulators the same level of oversight employed in the state's land-based casinos.
"But technology is changing and I think it will eventually get there," he said.
Underage and problem gambling also need to be addressed, Neilander added.
"It's a matter of trying to put a whole package together," he said. "From an intrastate perspective there are less legal problems, but gambling by minors is still a big concern."
Casino executives have said they see a huge untapped market for licensed Internet gambling, but that doesn't mean they want Nevadans to stay away from the state's land-based casinos to gamble on their home computers.
Las Vegas-based locals gambling giant Station Casinos Inc. told commissioners that allowing Intranet gambling within Nevada could be detrimental to the state's main industry that has invested billions of dollars in brick-and-mortar hotel-casinos and employed tens of thousands of workers.
"Will it benefit existing operations?" Station attorney Jack Godfrey asked.
Station has been working to develop technology that would allow in-room gambling at its hotels, but that wouldn't take away from the casino, said Lorenzo Fertitta, Station Casinos president.
"It's just like another slot machine," he said. "But if you allow Nevada residents to gamble on their home computers, that's not bringing more money into the state."
The American Gaming Association this week endorsed a bill proposed in Congress that would prohibit Internet gambling because it would not infringe on state regulation of gambling.
President Frank Fahrenkopf of the gaming association said the bill would allow states to take bets over the Internet from other states that permit online wagering.
Neilander said the proposal could clear up federal legal hurdles that regulators face on whether online betting can be legalized within states.
"Anything that clears up the ambiguities in the Wire Act is going to be helpful," Neilander said.
Nevada wants to be the first state to legalize Internet gambling. But because regulators haven't been able to determine whether interactive or online gambling is legal under federal law, they can't implement the Internet gambling law passed by the 2001 Nevada Legislature.
Under the law, lawmakers directed the state Gaming Commission to determine whether Internet gambling can be "secure and reliable" and "provide at least a reasonable level of assurance that players will be of a lawful age and that gambling will be available only in legal jurisdictions."
The commission will hear a technology update on Internet gambling at its June meeting, Bernhard said.
Experts estimate that revenues from Internet gambling - largely conducted by offshore companies because of the current U.S. ban - reached $2.2 billion in 2000, will hit $4 billion this year and could reach $6 billion by 2003.
On the Net:
Nevada Gaming Commission: http://gaming.state.nv.us/
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevadans won't be able to legally gamble from their home computers any time soon, state regulators said Thursday.
That's because Internet gambling poses too many legal, technical and public policy questions to determine how it should be regulated, said Dennis Neilander, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
"There are as many questions as there are answers," he said after a presentation to the Nevada Gaming Commission.
Legal concerns abound, including whether other states that outlaw gambling, such as Tennessee, could prosecute a Nevada casino operator if a Tennessee resident was caught gambling on a Nevada-based Web site, Bobby Siller, Gaming Control Board member said.
Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard said his concerns also include state regulators' ability to oversee and enforce Nevada licensees' Internet gambling operations.
"Now we're going to have to spread our enforcement mechanisms throughout the world," he said.
Neilander suggested casino operators would have to be able to provide "souped up" equipment to provide ongoing and "real time" monitoring of Web casino games.
Though technology to determine the location and identity of an online bettor exists, Siller added that it is too expensive to assemble a system to give regulators the same level of oversight employed in the state's land-based casinos.
"But technology is changing and I think it will eventually get there," he said.
Underage and problem gambling also need to be addressed, Neilander added.
"It's a matter of trying to put a whole package together," he said. "From an intrastate perspective there are less legal problems, but gambling by minors is still a big concern."
Casino executives have said they see a huge untapped market for licensed Internet gambling, but that doesn't mean they want Nevadans to stay away from the state's land-based casinos to gamble on their home computers.
Las Vegas-based locals gambling giant Station Casinos Inc. told commissioners that allowing Intranet gambling within Nevada could be detrimental to the state's main industry that has invested billions of dollars in brick-and-mortar hotel-casinos and employed tens of thousands of workers.
"Will it benefit existing operations?" Station attorney Jack Godfrey asked.
Station has been working to develop technology that would allow in-room gambling at its hotels, but that wouldn't take away from the casino, said Lorenzo Fertitta, Station Casinos president.
"It's just like another slot machine," he said. "But if you allow Nevada residents to gamble on their home computers, that's not bringing more money into the state."
The American Gaming Association this week endorsed a bill proposed in Congress that would prohibit Internet gambling because it would not infringe on state regulation of gambling.
President Frank Fahrenkopf of the gaming association said the bill would allow states to take bets over the Internet from other states that permit online wagering.
Neilander said the proposal could clear up federal legal hurdles that regulators face on whether online betting can be legalized within states.
"Anything that clears up the ambiguities in the Wire Act is going to be helpful," Neilander said.
Nevada wants to be the first state to legalize Internet gambling. But because regulators haven't been able to determine whether interactive or online gambling is legal under federal law, they can't implement the Internet gambling law passed by the 2001 Nevada Legislature.
Under the law, lawmakers directed the state Gaming Commission to determine whether Internet gambling can be "secure and reliable" and "provide at least a reasonable level of assurance that players will be of a lawful age and that gambling will be available only in legal jurisdictions."
The commission will hear a technology update on Internet gambling at its June meeting, Bernhard said.
Experts estimate that revenues from Internet gambling - largely conducted by offshore companies because of the current U.S. ban - reached $2.2 billion in 2000, will hit $4 billion this year and could reach $6 billion by 2003.
On the Net:
Nevada Gaming Commission: http://gaming.state.nv.us/