By Maria Willson
Earlier this month, Delaware and New Jersey have joined the online gaming bandwagon, by launching their online poker as well as casino gaming sites. Nevada, the first state to launch online gambling in the country, will be facing competition from online poker and casino sites in Delaware and New Jersey, and lawmakers in the state feel that it is time to introduce online casino games besides poker. AG Burnett, the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s chairman, does not feel that online casino games can be viewed as competition for their online poker.
Interstate Gaming to Attract Players from Across the Country
Nevada at present is poker only, and that is what the Gaming Control Board has been saying from the beginning. Online casino games could be introduced in the future, but at present, the commission feels the state has to “prove its poker first”. Interstate gaming, however, may soon be reality, which means that the two operational poker sites in Nevada, Ultimatepoker.com and WSOP.com, will both get new players from other states where online poker and casino games are legalized.
Online casino games have been legalized in Delaware and New Jersey on Halloween, and the Gaming Control Board is expected to request the Nevada State legislature to authorize interstate online betting.
Hope for Online Gambling
A.G Burnett may keep insisting that it is only going to be poker for Nevada, but all hope is not lost for online casino games. According to a Nevada state legislature democratic majority floor leader William Home, the internet gambling law in Nevada does not prohibit online casino games, although it does not allow horseracing and sports betting. With the support of the Nevada Gaming Commission, Home intends to propose introduction of online casino gaming, so that Nevada is on the same level as Delaware and New Jersey, to handle competition better.
On the other hand, the Nevada Gaming Commission may not be pushing for the pari-mutuel rebates on racebooks. Also, many feel that the issue about the rebate will be undecided, which means it will go back to the state legislators, who had in the first place authorized pari-mutuel rebates in racebooks earlier, in their recent sessions.
Nevada Gaming Commission Approves Dan Gilbert as Investor
In other news, Cleveland Cavaliers NBA franchise owner gets a nod from Nevada Gaming Commission to be a part investor in Caesar’s Entertainment offshoot venture. Gilbert owns around 5.45% shares in Caesars Interactive, while his company Rock Gaming owns 9.9% of Caesars. Caesars Interactive is one of the top gaming brands in the US and owns the World Series of Poker brand and also the WSOP.com online poker site, one of the two operating online poker rooms in the state at present. Gilbert paid a total of $60 million for stakes in both Caesars and Rock Gaming.
Siri Casino Gets Initial Regulatory Approval
The Nevada Gaming Commission gave its initial regulatory approval to Siri Casino’s Jeff Siri, to open and operate a temporary casino in downtown Reno. The casino will be a small, 16-slot operation and will get its final approval from the gaming board on November 21, 2013. According to Jeff Siri, they are planning to operate the casino for eight hours during the week before Christmas. Siri, who also owns the Club Cal Neva, said that two of the club’s employees will also be stationed at the temporary casino for security purposes, more than anything else, as the facility will only have slot machines for the time being. He also added that the idea to start operations at such a small scale is not to make profits but to retain the gaming license.