Nevada should go all-in on internet gambling

Richard N. Velotta, a respected journalist and gambling reporter with the Las Vegas Sun wrote an op-ed article for the publication Vegas Inc. over the weekend, suggesting that if Nevada intended to remain the dominant US state for Internet gambling, it’s going to have to make some tough decisions on what regulators are prepared to allow in terms of variety.

Pointing out that at present only internet poker has been allowed in Nevada, whilst New Jersey and Delaware have issued licenses for online casino games as well, Velotta notes that New Jersey’s large population positions it to be more successful when it comes to internet gambling.

“Nevada’s growth strategy is to enter gambling compacts with other states that would allow for a broader online poker player base,” Velotta writes. “Right now, it’s a small club with Delaware and New Jersey as the only members, but other states are considering poker games too.”

Drawing attention to the fact that Nevada’s online gaming legislation doesn’t specify that Nevada must offer poker in isolation, Velotta opines that the state’s best bet for expanding online gaming is to explore offering other casino games, although that may be a cause for debate by conflicting interests.

Among the dissenting voices will be Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands, which is vehemently opposed to all forms of online poker and casino gambling. Adelson clearly is more tolerant when it comes to mobile sports betting, where his company has partnered with CG Technology (formerly Cantor Gaming).

The position of other land gambling giants like MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment on expanding Nevada’s online offering to embrace casino action as well is not presently clear.

Both have repeatedly indicated a preference for a federal, online poker only solution but their managements are sufficiently pragmatic to recognise that the state-by-state route to legalisation is the dominant trend in the absence of Congressional unanimity at present…and both have online poker plans in Nevada and New Jersey well underway.

Velotta says that Steve Wynn of Wynn Resorts appears to be satisfied for now with watching from the sidelines.

He concludes: “It’s difficult to say [this], because our state always has been lead dog in the gaming world, but it’s time we follow New Jersey’s lead.

“It’s time for Nevada to go all in on Internet gaming.”