It’s no surprise that Nevada proved an early pioneer in legalized online gambling, as it is already the undisputed gambling capital of the country. Since 2013, provisions have been made in regard to intrastate gambling, and Peppermill Resort in Northern Nevada decided to be the first to offer online poker along the state’s border.
They partnered with Las Vegas-based Ultimate Poker and allow Utah residents to visit 5 of their hotels along Interstate 80 near to make live deposits, which then allow them to play online poker with the money they have deposited, even when they return to Utah. The key, however, is that they must deposit funds in Nevada prior to playing online in Utah—and once they run out of online funds, they must return to Nevada to deposit more in order to continue playing online.
The 5 hotels participating in this intrastate online poker are the Peppermill Resort Casino Spa in Reno, the Western Village Inn & Casino in Sparks, and three hotel-casinos in Wendover.
Some are surprised that more casinos are not going this route, but many casinos believe that their time is best invested elsewhere. While the target audience of this move is to increase intrastate revenues between Nevada and Utah, it is also expected to boost the overall gambling revenues of the Northern Nevada casino hotels.
There are some major Nevada casinos that have yet to jump into the world of online gambling at all because they feel that the earnings potential is far greater within their brick and mortar facilities. It will be interesting to see if Peppermill Resort’s intrastate efforts pay off and if they do, how many casinos will follow suit.
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