State gambling regulators to address online wagering

Sunday, May 12, 2002 | 11:59 a.m.

LAS VEGAS AP) - State gambling regulators say they want residents' help in considering whether to allow Nevadans to bet on casino games from their home computers.

Regulators already have heard experts claim that allowing such bets from outside Nevada is likely illegal under federal law, but e-gambling advocates hope allowing residents within the Silver State to play casino games online could set the stage for future market expansion.

"This is a meeting where I'd like to get some help with broader policy questions," Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard told the Las Vegas Review-Journal referring to Thursday's commission meeting in Las Vegas. "We have to look at policy issues, decide if having people playing from their homes is what we want."

The commission is considering in-state online gambling as part of regulations that would allow Nevada to become the first state to allow Internet gambling.

If approved, intrastate Web betting also could apply to remote wagering from hotel rooms, said Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander.

Station Casinos Inc., already developing its own remote wagering system, supports allowing Nevadans to make online bets, said Glenn Christenson, Station's chief financial officer.

Intrastate betting would complement the company's offerings at its land-based casinos, Christenson said.

"If it is going to be available, we'd want to be involved. It's like videotaped movies available at Blockbuster. They don't kill first-run movies. And I think intrastate play from within Nevada would expand the (brick-and (mortar)- market."

While Station executives plan to attend Thursday's meeting, one gambling company that's taking a pass is Wynn Resorts, owned by casino developer Steve Wynn, whose latest project is on the site of the former Desert Inn hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

"Intrastate (gambling) seems like glorified phone wagering," Wynn lawyer Marc Rubinstein said. "We've taken a long hard look at the issue, and we're just not sure yet."

When Gov. Kenny Guinn signed Assembly Bill 466 last year, some industry experts thought the new law would allow Nevada casino operators to capture a large share of the lucrative Internet casino gambling market, projected to bring in more than $6 billion annually worldwide by 2003.

Powerful brand names owned by Las Vegas Strip resorts - Caesars Palace, the MGM Grand and Bellagio - would quickly capture market share from current Internet casinos operating from offshore jurisdictions, experts argued.

Now, however, many industry experts believe it could be years before Nevada casinos can offer Internet wagering to gamblers outside the state.

In 2002, it's predicted that U.S. bettors will lose an estimated $1.2 billion on Internet casino sites, most operated from offshore jurisdictions with minimal regulatory oversight, lawyer and Internet gambling expert Tony Cabot said.

Nevadans lose about $40 million of that total, making the market ripe for major local casino brands to target, Cabot said.

"(Intrastate betting) is perfect for companies with a high concentration of local players," he said.

"A number of Internet gaming advocates were hoping for a broader approach (allowing bets nationally and internationally) than an intrastate solution. But this is viewed as a good first step."

Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal