Regulators recently met to discuss the legislation changes that would be required to allow Nevada and New Jersey to share their respective populations for online gambling. Some speculate that it could begin as early as next year.
Nevada first adopted online gaming regulations at the end of 2011. Those rules would be need to be amended before any such population sharing agreements could be reached. Additional hearings on the proposed amendments are scheduled for October.
Since the legalization of online poker in Nevada, only Station Casinos has made an online offering available. More online games are expected to arrive soon.
According to coverage from Card Player, former Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman, Mark Lipparelli says “far-reaching” agreements would not be ideal: “I would say that it’s likely that state-to-state, multiple-market initiatives will begin in 2014. It’s a little more challenging to peg which states. I’m a believer that we’re going to see states begin to compact with each other or even allow cross-border access to markets, and maybe it wouldn’t even require a compact of any kind. That’s a likely thing to occur.”
According to Nevada lawmaker, William Horne, the process to hash out a Nevada-New Jersey deal would be rather straightforward: “I wouldn’t anticipate it being too difficult because both [Nevada and New Jersey] have a strong track record with gaming regulation. It shouldn’t take too long.”
It seems to only be a matter of time before Nevada has access to online gambling populations in other states. Regulators simply need to iron out the details.
Join the Conversation