Nevada USA Proposed Online Gambling Beneficiary

Published: Sunday, August 23, 2009 Online-Casinos.com

Gambling experts believe Nevada, which legalized casinos in 1931, stands to benefit from the proposed repeal of the ban on online gambling in the USA because the state has investigated and licensed gaming companies and regulated the industry longer than any other jurisdiction. This is good news for those companies in Nevada that are contemplating entering the field of online gambling in the future.

The existing laws and regulatory structure in Nevada created for its land-based casino industry may provide significant potential for online casino operators. The Las Vegas Review-Journal recently reported that gaming regulators say online operators would be subject to the same licensing fees and tax as the land-based operations, rates that are considered among the lowest in the USA. Currently tax for Nevada casinos is 6.75 percent, minimal when compared to other states with rates near 50 percent.

Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Dennis Neilander, said, the state's existing laws could easily be tweaked to conform to the proposed federal rules. He added, "We have the enabling legislation in place that would allow us to go forward with the concepts that I've heard are being discussed,"

Greg Gemignani, a Nevada gaming attorney commented, "There are a substantial number of Nevada licensees with experience in the technologies, systems and management of systems that can be used for online gaming,"

Gemignani also said, "Given Nevada's current laws permitting interactive gaming licensing, Nevada is well-placed to be at the fore front of regulating online gaming and providing assistance to the federal government in determining the suitability of applicants."

The casino industry's Washington D.C. based lobby wing, the American Gaming Association, estimates that, Americans wagered $5.9 billion on gambling Web sites outside the United States. The casino industry is split on Internet gambling. and therefore the American Gaming Association has taken a neutral stance on the issue "due to the divergent views of its members,"