Lawmakers OK Internet gaming bill

Erin Neff

Friday, April 27, 2001 | 11:18 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Two days of political maneuvering ended this morning with the passage of a compromise Internet gaming bill that allows casinos in rural counties to launch into cyberspace.

On Thursday the Assembly amended a bill sponsored by a Republican into a measure promoted by three leading Democrats. As a result, Assembly Bill 296 -- the first measure to deal with Internet gaming -- was set aside to die in the spirit of compromise.

The new bill, Assembly Bill 578, includes many of the original provisions from AB296's sponsor, Merle Berman, R-Las Vegas.

But the amended version also allays many of the concerns lawmakers first expressed when failing to pass AB578 Wednesday.

The amended bill, which passed 37-2 with three abstentions, cuts in half the fees charged to casinos and slot manufacturers who decide to venture into Internet gaming.

AB578 had called for an up front $1 million fee for casinos to cover a two-year license. That fee is now $500,000. The fee for slot manufacturers is now $250,000.

By lowering the fee and by changing the type of establishment that can operate an Internet gaming venture, lawmakers from rural counties were satisfied that the bill did not preclude casinos in their districts.

"We went through each county to make sure that each of those casinos were included," said John Carpenter, R-Elko.

But Berman did not give up the bill she has quietly worked on for six months.

In a speech on the floor of the Assembly she asked lawmakers to leave AB296 on the clerk's desk in a spirit of bipartisanship.

"Now, in saying this, please understand that my commitment as a public servant to the people of this state overrides any party politics," Berman said. "So, allow the process of government to continue, and if this body chooses to use the language of my bill in another piece of legislation, then it would honor me to have my work utilized for the best interest of all Nevadans."

After that floor session Berman e-mailed her statement along with a press release to dozens of media and gaming representatives -- a move derided by numerous Democrats.

Assembly Judiciary Chairman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, proposed the amended version of AB578. Anderson, Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins and Majority Floor Leader Barbara Buckley had proposed the original version of AB578.

In an interview, Berman was less gracious about losing her bill to the Democrat-backed AB578 in order to get an Internet gaming measure approved.

"I was the only one out of 63 legislators who even brought Internet gaming forward," Berman said. "It wasn't Bernie Anderson or Richard Perkins or Barbara Buckley.

"It will always be my bill," Berman said.

In her press release claiming "No partisan politics for Berman," she mentioned that "the chairman of Judiciary lost" an effort to win a two-thirds majority on AB578 -- and thus required her to merge her bill into an amended version.

Even if approved and signed into law, the bill doesn't allow casinos to jump on the Internet. First, the Gaming Control Board must establish requirements for a license -- a process estimated to take two years. In proposing the compromise amendment Thursday night, Anderson said Nevada should be the leader in Internet gaming. The compromise was hammered out with gaming lobbyists after Wednesday's failed vote on the original AB578. Lawmakers expressed concerns about the fees and about rural county exclusion. Although lawmakers moved to reconsider AB578, supporters were seven votes shy of the majority needed to pass the item. Gaming lobbyists offered the compromise in an effort to win the votes.