Sandoval Steps Up Time Frame On Nevada Internet Gambling Bets
New Jersey has not been much of a threat to Nevada casinos over the past decade. While Atlantic City casinos have floundered since the economic recession of 2008, Nevada casinos have started to return to pre-recession gambling revenue figures. The road for both gaming havens has been long.
This year, both industries figured to get some relief from online gambling. Nevada lawmakers approved an online gambling bill late last year, and regulators have already started the licensing process. New Jersey casinos received their good news on Thursday when Governor Chris Christie vetoed an Internet gaming bill, but indicated he would sign a revised version.
That proclamation led Nevada Governor to step up efforts to allow Nevada online casinos to accept bets from gamblers in other states. Sandoval floated the idea last week, but after seeing Christie's remarks, the governor became concerned that New Jersey may beat Nevada to the interstate gaming punch.
"I am pleased that the Assemblyman (William Horne) has offered to carry legislation allowing for the establishment of online gaming in our state and help Nevada maintain its position as the gold standard in gaming," said Sandoval. "In light of the developments in New Jersey yesterday, the need to act quickly has become even more important."
Sandoval has asked that legislators have Bill 5 on his desk in less than 30 days. The request comes after New Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak announced that he expected New jersey to have online casinos operational by this Fall. If that is the case, Nevada would have a competitor in what many analysts believe is a multi-billion dollar industry.
It is not yet known how the federal government is going to deal with the interstate gambling. Legal experts have asserted that individual states could regulate online gambling, but could only accept bets from residents in their state. Nevada and New Jersey contend that they can create their own laws allowing their licensed online casinos to accept bets from gamblers in other states.
If Nevada or New Jersey does move forward with the plan to accept interstate online wagering, it could present a problem for the federal government. The precedent has already been set by the US that their law supersedes any that license online gambling companies.
Antigua and Barbuda had a prosperous Internet gaming industry, licensing companies and allowing those companies to accept bets from anywhere in the world. The US hurt Antigua's gaming business in 2006, when the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act became a nuisance and caused a legal battle between the US and Antigua.