Guinn gives OK to wireless gaming devices in casinos

Elizabeth White

Thursday, June 2, 2005 | 11:17 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Now that the governor has signed off on legislation allowing gamblers to play poker or roulette at poolside or slots from a restaurant salad bar, regulators will have to make some judgments on mobile gaming safeguards.

Gov. Kenny Guinn on Wednesday signed AB471, a bill initiated by Cantor G&W (Nevada) LP, an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald LP, the New York-based financial services company that says an adaptation of its interactive bond-trading technology will work for casino gambling.

Cantor representatives worked quietly on their innovative proposal months in advance of the 2005 Legislature, and the result was a measure that didn't create any big concerns among the state's casino regulators and was opposed by only one of the state's 63 legislators.

Joining in support of the bill later on were representatives of Louisiana-based Diamond I Inc., which has developed its own device; and Reno-based International Game Technology, the world's largest manufacturer of slot machines.

Former state Gaming Control Board Chairman Steve DuCharme said today that the issues that will confront regulators aren't new -- they're just updated versions of existing issues, advanced by new technology.

"I'm sure they'll be looking at how do you restrict the area where it's used," said DuCharme, who served as chairman from 1998 to 2000 after two four-year terms as a member. "How do you prevent minors from using it? How do you protect the system from hackers?"

The board and the Nevada Gaming Commission will draft regulations on mobile gaming before wireless devices can be used to play in local casinos. DuCharme said regulators would likely look at the role of adult responsibility on some of the issues.

"At some point, society has to rely on adult responsibility," he said. "There are people over the age of 21 who purchase alcohol for minors and there are parents who allow their children to gamble by telling them to put the coin in the machine and pull the handle."

Proponents of the devices say the remote gambling option, in public locations at resorts and not in hotel rooms or other private areas, would help Nevada casinos stay competitive despite the expansion of Indian casinos, Internet betting and of resorts elsewhere in the country and around the world.

"It's a reflection of changing technology and the ability to do things differently than in the past," said Bill Bible, head of the Nevada Resort Association. "It clearly behooves Nevada to keep abreast of the times and maintain its advantage over other states."

It will take several months for adoption of rules implementing AB471, and Bible said casino regulators will have to be assured there's no potential for problems.

Once they're authorized, Bible said there's still another test: "How will it be accepted, whether people would rather gamble on a PDA (personal digital assistant) at poolside or whether they'd rather be in the casino enjoying some of the casino excitement."

Bill Eadington, director of the Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming at the University of Nevada, Reno, raises another concern: whether the advantage of offering casino customers a convenient way to gamble nonstop is offset by the possibility that the technology could someday make it outside casino walls.

"Then there may be some concern with the industry that there could be a competing product," he said, adding that the proposal "brings up the philosophical question of where should gambling take place."

Joe Asher, managing director of Cantor G&W, said his firm is focused on use of the devices within and not outside casinos. He heralded the action that puts Nevada on the way to apparently becoming the first state to allow wireless gambling.

"People have become more and more comfortable with technology," Asher said. "An entire generation or two have grown up with video games or mobile devices, and they are in our view likely to appreciate the ability to play without being restricted to the physical confines of the gaming area in the casino."

Sen. Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, was the only "no" vote on the bill. When she's not in the Legislature, Carlton is a waitress at the coffee shop at the Treasure Island resort in Las Vegas -- and she says the new gambling method could interfere with her livelihood by reducing customer turnover.

"There needs to be places where there aren't two and three gaming devices at your disposal," she said. "It's hard enough to get somebody's order when they're trying to fill out a keno slip. All I need to find out from them is how they like their eggs and what kind of toast they want."

Carlton also was worried about her responsibility as an employee.

"What's going to be my responsibility?" she asked. "Am I going to be obligated to turn someone in if I see them hand it to their kid?"

Asher said the Cantor device uses encryption, which he didn't detail, to ensure security. He also said a biometric system, that reads a permitted user's fingerprint, could be used if that's what regulators want.

Under terms of the measure, the devices could only be used in the public areas of casinos that have 100 or more slot machines and offer at least one other game. They would be barred from hotel rooms or any other private areas.

State Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said it could take several months to a year for the board and its parent, the state Gaming Commission, to come up with the regulations that will govern the use of the devices.

Bible, a former GCB chairman, said the concept may be new but the ability to control such gambling is strong. The wireless devices would be linked to a main casino server that could verify that the gambler is the person who checked out one of the devices at a casino.

Asher told legislators that the devices could be set to stop working in nonauthorized areas, and players could establish limits in advance by depositing money on account.