In a blow to those hoping the state's casino companies would be able to tap into the multibillion-dollar Internet gambling business, the state's top gaming regulators said Thursday they are unable to proceed with plans to write rules legalizing interstate cyber-gambling.
"The question about
federal legality remains unanswered," Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman
Dennis Neilander said after hearing a presentation from the state's attorney
general's office. "I told the legislators last year that we will not go
forward without a green light."
The report, presented by
Assistant Chief Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rodefer at Thursday's Nevada
Gaming Commission meeting, said federal laws on the issue are unclear. A Nevada
law passed last year requires regulators to find that Internet gambling is
legal before they can write rules enabling the state's casinos to accept Web
bets.
Rodefer's report analyzed
the effect of federal laws on Assembly Bill 466, the Internet casino
legislation signed into law by Gov. Kenny Guinn on June 14. Barring
congressional action or a reversal of a long-standing Department of Justice
opinion that interstate Internet casino gambling violates the Wire Act, a 1961
federal law targeting interstate sports betting, Neilander said regulators
won't be able to write rules allowing the state's casino operators to take
Internet casino wagers from bettors outside Nevada.
When Guinn signed AB466,
some industry experts thought the new law would allow the state's casinos to
capture a large share of the Internet gambling market, a rapidly growing
business that experts predict will generate $6.3 billion worldwide by next
year. Powerful brand names owned by Strip megaresorts like Caesars Palace, the
MGM Grand and Bellagio would quickly capture market share from current Internet
casinos operating with little or no regulation from offshore jurisdictions,
they argued. Further, proponents said Nevada's regulatory credibility would add
to a gambling Web site's allure, and the taxes raised would help alleviate the
state's ongoing cash crunch.
Instead, two of the state's
biggest operators are preparing to offer Togel Internet casino betting from the Isle of Man, a
small, semi-independent island in the Irish Sea. MGM Mirage was one of three
companies to win licenses when the Manx government awarded licenses last fall,
and the company hopes to begin operation in about a year. Station Casinos
announced last month it had reached a deal with Sun International Hotels to
purchase half of its already operating Isle Of Man-licensed site. Station hopes
to receive Manx regulatory approval to begin participating in the site by
September.
Isle of Man Web casinos are
prohibited from taking bets from jurisdictions where the practice is illegal,
including every state in the United States. Internet gaming proponents were
disappointed that state regulators won't allow the state's casinos to take bets
from outside Nevada. "It's unfortunate that we'll be unable to allow
international and interstate interactive gaming," said Richard
Fitzpatrick, president of the Interactive Gaming Institute of Nevada.
"Nevada will lose a lot of money. Our companies are going to have to
operate from outside the U.S., but I don't blame the (regulators). They're
following the law."
Fitzpatrick suggested that
the state's operators can still enter the Internet gambling business on a
smaller scale, offering intrastate betting to gamblers within Nevada's borders.
Neilander and commission Chairman Pete Bernhard sent a copy of Rodefer's report
to the Department of Justice asking for guidance. "The results of the
legal research are somewhat inconclusive," the two top regulators wrote.
"Nevada's regulatory bodies are neither in favor of nor against any
specific policy position and would not seek to 'lobby' the Department of
Justice."
Neilander said a Justice
Department official acknowledged receipt of the letter and report and promised
to respond after reviewing them. "Congressional action clarifying whether
or not interstate Internet gaming is legal would be the most certain way for us
to make the required finding (that Web betting will or won't violate federal
law)," Neilander said. "But if the DOJ were to say they've changed
their position and that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting and not to
casino-style games, that would open a lot of doors."
Web: https://elquintobeatle.com/
Social links:
https://www21.zippyshare.com/v/VjmCL7VA/file.html
https://ext-4356121.livejournal.com/358691.html
https://txt.fyi/-/2227/76d01f4c/
Comments
Post a Comment