Nevada Crafts New Language For Poker Tech FirmsRegulators Discuss Upcoming Industry At Thursday Hearing |
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On Thursday, one of Nevada’s regulatory bodies in charge of overseeing the state’s dominant casino industry added some new language in the rules for companies that will provide online-poker technology and information to brick-and-mortar properties.
Over the past year or so, the Silver State has slowly been moving toward creating the nation’s first regulated intrastate web-poker market. No legalization at the federal level has ever been realized, and it remains uncertain for 2013.
The big changes to the so-called online poker “service providers” are that they now can be classified more narrowly based on their function. Geo-location firms, which would be in charge of making sure a player is within Nevada’s borders, are now potential licensees for the state. The same goes for firms that specialize in player identification and payment processing.
Instead of just simply falling under the scope of a general “service provider” definition, Nevada regulators have better language to comb through and vet potential applicants.
Exceptions to the aforementioned classifications are made for casinos that elect to perform these functions in-house, firms that aren’t directly involved in any online gambling business (i.e. Google), an existing online-poker site itself that has developed its own methods for such activities, and, finally, for an entity that provides these services with its licensed partner “assuming responsibility” for any potential problems.
Geo-location is the big one, as neighboring Utah has banned web gambling.
Narrowing in on what exactly “assuming responsibility” means for current Nevada gaming giants was a subject of some discussion at Thursday’s hearing. Ellen Whittemore, an attorney for online poker licensees Bally Technologies Inc. and International Game Technology (IGT), asked regulators and Nevada Deputy Attorney General Michael Somps, the man who actually crafted the language, to essentially make sure if her reading of the provision was correct.
Bally Technologies and IGT, through Whittemore, are both satisfied with how the regulation reads. Nevada consults with business interests throughout the process of making the rules for the gaming industry. Regulations for online poker were adopted in December 2011, but state officials can adjust them as time goes on. The state’s first real-money licensed games are likely to begin this fall at the hands of South Point Poker.
Follow Brian Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
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