This week saw the often “stop and start” efforts for legalizing online poker in the US gain some momentum in the state of Nevada as the lawmakers of the state started to consider legislations which could be made concerning the issue. Other developments in this ambit included the top poker website in the world being joined by a casino company to push for federal action and the plan by the largest casino company in the world to offer online wagers to overseas customers being supported for the first time by the gambling regulators.
The gambling regulators of Nevada gave the green light to a business relationship between the gambling giants 888 Holdings PLC, a company based in Gibraltar which operates many of Britain’s online casinos, and Caesars Entertainment Corp on Thursday. The deal allows 888 and Caesars to operate websites for online gambling in Britain and some other jurisdictions under the name of the Caesars brand. According to Chairman Mark Lipparelli, this is the first time an application by an internet gaming company has been accepted by the Gaming Control Board.
At the same time on Thursday, Carson City was the venue for a convention of the state lawmakers for a hearing on a legislation that concerns legalizing online poker for the residents of Nevada. However, this particular move has faced strong opposition from the casino industry itself. The big names of the casino business such as MGM Grand Resorts and Caesars Entertainment have already made their stand pretty clear, declaring that they want the legislations regarding the regulation of online gambling to come from the federal level itself and not the state level.
An expert in gambling law, Nelson Rose, states that never has a major legislation for gaming passed in the state of Nevada when the largest casinos of the state opposed it. An MGM Grand Resorts spokesman, Alan Feldman, also supported that notion saying that the regulation has to come right from the federal level otherwise the end result of the state legislations is like a patchwork of rules and regulations.
