Nevada GCB for Online Gambling

Nevada State’s Gaming Control Board (GCB) is currently in the process of finalizing work on the creation of a regulated framework for local online gambling in Nevada.  At a recent U.S. Online Gaming Law Conference held at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas the chairman of the GCB Mark Lipparelli said that the board would be ready to investigate the suggested regulation this month in order to have everything finalized by February 2012.

The current suggested framework, which is similar to the frameworks already in place in many states that allow for online sports betting, is essentially geared only towards online poker.  At this stage, there will not be any other types of gaming available, though that is likely to change.

Lipparelli encouraged local casino operators to enter the online market, stating that any current licensee who wishes to receive online licensing only needs to undergo review of their online technology.  A company who wishes to enter the market from scratch will be required to undergo all the licensing and registration required of regular casinos in addition to the special authorization for the online gaming software.

Some of the features of the new legislation are similar to that already in place for regular casino gambling while some is unique to online.  The minimum age is twenty-one, each person is allowed only one account, and it is forbidden to transfer money from one account to another.  The licensees will be required to maintain a $20,000 deposit to pay for compliance investigations and required to keep a five-year history of all transactions and accounts.  Furthermore, the software must have the ability to detect and block bots from using the system.

The legalization of online poker in Nevada was received with mixed feelings by the neighboring Californian tribes’ casinos.