Wall Street Journal: Nevada Sets Stage for Online Poker

The Wall Street Journal released an article on Wednesday focusing on what will soon become Nevada’s intrastate online poker industry.  The Silver State hopes to ultimately serve as the hub for a national industry once federal legislation is passed.

The state's gambling regulator will vote Thursday on rules that would allow companies to apply for licenses to operate poker websites in Nevada.

Mark Lipparelli, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the body that drew up the rules, says websites limited to Nevada's borders could be up and running before the end of next year if the gaming commission votes to allow them.  These include the likes of Las Vegas-based South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, which became the first US casino to begin offering a free-to-play online poker site.  It has applied for a license and would ultimately begin offering “real cash” play to Nevada residents.   Presently, South Point Poker is offering customers free seats at the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event and thousands of dollars in cash prizes per month. 

Lipparelli told the Wall Street Journal that technologies are in place to prevent individuals from betting beyond the state’s borders but the regulators would still have to test the systems in order to ensure compliance. 

Most of the big casinos want federal legislation passed, arguing that a state-by-state approach creates pools of players that are too small to have enough online games going at any given time.

"There's an imperative for the federal government to act," said MGM spokesman Alan Feldman.

This holds true especially in a state like Nevada where the population is just under 3 million people.  Experts point out that at least 70,000 active users would be required to make the industry financially viable.

- Chris Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher