INTERNET GAMBLING: Nevada prepared for the 'if'

State could assume leadership role if legislation passes


Nevada, where declining gaming and sales tax collections have ravaged the biennial budget, could benefit financially if a bill to legalize Internet gambling in the United States is approved by Congress.

The potential, however, rests on a big IF.

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Nevada Mandates that "ALL" Merchants Comply with PCI

A First: PCI ComplianceMandated for State's Merchants. Nevada, has passed a new law that, asof next year, requires businesses to comply with PCI when collecting ortransmitting payment card information.

A House of Representatives resolution was introduced in May that would establish a framework to permit licensed online gambling operators to accept wagers from inside the United States. Legal experts said Nevada has the statutory structure in place to investigate and license online gaming companies. Also, Nevada could become the premier American jurisdiction for hosting Internet casinos.

If the sites were to operate from Nevada, gaming regulators said the online businesses would have to pay upfront fees. Also, the online casinos would be taxed at the same rate as Strip casinos, now 6.75 percent on gaming revenues.

Again, a big IF because the keys to the whole deal rest with the 111th Congress some 2,500 miles to the east in Washington, D.C. Federal lawmakers have focused attention on health care reform, the nation's economic crisis and other matters, setting aside issues such as Internet gambling.

"(Debate on the bill) probably won't happen this year," said former Sen. Richard Bryan, an attorney with Lionel Sawyer & Collins, who spent 12 years representing Nevada in the U.S. Senate as a Democrat. "My sense, however, is that there is a gathering, gradual momentum where, eventually, Internet gaming will occur and be regulated," Bryan said. "I'm just not sure if it has reached critical mass yet."

Lack of action hasn't stopped interest in the subject.

Bryan and fellow Lionel Sawyer & Collins attorney Greg Gemignani said the firm has been approached by potential clients who want to set up Internet gambling businesses in Nevada should the activity be legalized. Nevada lawmakers enacted the process to license Internet gaming in 2001 but the state's effort went dormant a year later when there wasn't any action on the federal level.

If Internet gaming is legalized under the current bill in Congress, Nevada could be chosen by the Department of Treasury to determine whether an applicant is suitable for federal gaming licensing.

BENEFITS TO NEVADA

Observers believe Nevada, which legalized casinos in 1931, stands to benefit because the state has investigated and licensed gaming companies and regulated the industry longer than any other jurisdiction.

"The suitability requirements under the current bill look like a subset of what Nevada already requires," Gemignani said. "Given Nevada's current laws permitting interactive gaming licensing, Nevada is well-placed to be at the forefront of regulating online gaming and providing assistance to the federal government in determining the suitability of applicants."

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