As of late, there has been some debate as to whether or not Nevada should consider looking at other forms of gambling, aside from online poker. The bill, Assembly Bill 114 has gained a lot of attention recently, and has been relatively badly covered by most of the media. Although, if you were to ask lobbyists, they would tell you that the bill actually legalizes online poker Nevada. However, the bill itself does not contain the word poker in one time.
Instead, the bill legalizes what he calls interactive gaming, which could encompass many different forms of online gaming that are quite popular around the world. However, for right now, the industry is only going to focus on poker. It is apparent that the companies that are looking to capitalize on this are not interested in drawing too much attention to all of the different forms of gambling that the legislation legalizes.
New Jersey, passed a law last week that legalized a large amount of online gambling, and was not afraid to acknowledge the different forms of gambling that were legalized the bill. As of right now, both Nevada and New Jersey are attempting to rush in order to get themselves into the forefront for online gambling, which is expected to be addressed by federal legislation at some point in the near future, although it is not clear whether not that legislation can be expected to be passed down in 2013.
The decision to limit online gambling poker, is one that is much more political decision. The state legislator wanted to make certain to open up interactive gaming in multiple different forms of gambling so that they could expand the number of ways in which revenue can be created. Nevada has estate is looking for a way to generate additional tax revenue, and online gambling across multiple different games would provide them with much more than just online poker would.
With dozens of different companies jumping on board the train, attempting to get license by the Nevada gaming control board to be able to practice poker gaming online, the industry as a whole seems to be in a state of disarray as New Jersey moves forward with their legislation, Las Vegas and Nevada have Artie passed legislation but have more in the pipeline, and no one is certain whether or not the federal government is going to step in and regulate the industry on their own. Until that time, it is clear that both states want to establish themselves in the online gaming industry, in an attempt to bring in as much tax revenue as possible. Of course, the companies that are licensed to operate online are also pushing for a quick resolution to the issue, as they would like to begin collecting revenue online as well.
It will be interesting to see how quickly the situation can be remedied, and whether or not the federal legislation is going to come through in 2013. Until that time, it is clear that the states are willing to take things into their own hands to secure tax