Nevada to Take Another Step Toward Web PokerThe Gaming Control Board Will Meet on Dec. 7 to Discuss New Regulatory Drafts |
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On Wednesday, Nevada will take another step toward having the nation’s first intrastate Internet poker system. The state Gaming Control Board is set to meet in Carson City to possibly take action on a new set of regulatory drafts for the industry.
A bill that was signed into law in June mandates the Nevada Gaming Commission to adopt regulations by the end of January 2012 — making February the earliest possible time a real-money poker site could be operational.
New versions of six separate regulations were publicly released to the Control Board’s website, with few changes. At the last Control Board hearing in November, Chairman Mark Lipparelli said the last batch needed “clarity.”
Over the past month the key change to the language came in the rules for operating online poker. A new provision says that a company can’t offer the game to a pool of players across a multi-room poker network unless authorized by state officials.
The hearing on Wednesday is the first of two scheduled for the month of December. On the 22nd, the Gaming Commission will meet to discuss the regulations crafted by the Control Board.
Lipparelli said it’s possible the regulations will be finalized and adopted by the end of the year, but the end of January 2012 is more likely.
The Control Board has already received applications from a handful of companies seeking to participate in the online poker business. Regulators have started to review some of the paper work, according to Lipparelli.
The chairman said that some companies may act more conservatively by waiting until regulations are done before applying. He also said that gaming companies that have a history with Nevada regulators won’t be subjected to as significant of an investigation period as those that are new to the state.
Even though regulations will be set in February, Lipparelli said that laboratory testing and approval of software and other technologies will likely take longer than issuing licenses — making a timeline for Nevada Internet poker uncertain.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
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