Nevada Online Gambling Shelved For Now

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Survey claims only 3.7 percent of people in Nevada gambled online in the past five years.

Las Vegas Today carried an interesting story as the week closed, revealing that the Nevada Gaming Control board had looked at the possibility of sanctioning internet gambling last week. The regulators had earlier commissioned a study by UNLV to gauge interest amongst Nevada residents in gambling over the internet.

"There is some ability or there is some argument that now there is an exemption to the federal law [against online gambling]," said Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander, referring to the powers vested in individual states to make gambling laws, and exemptions in federal law for horseracing, state lotteries and fantasy sports.

The report claims that gaming and technology companies have pressured regulators to license internet gambling websites based in Nevada. "A number of these groups have said: 'Why don't you look at regulating it just for Nevada?'" Neilander is quoted as saying.

Some years ago attempts to legalise and license online gambling in Nevada were put on hold by state legislators with one eye on what federal authorities and legislators were planning.

Last year, in an attempt to confirm gaming company claims that many Nevadans already gamble on the Internet, the Gaming Contol Board commissioned the UNLV study to report on the pastime. Professor and director of the UNLV's Gambling Institute, Bo Bernhard conducted the study, and reported that 65.4 percent of people in Nevada had little interest in Internet gambling.

The study claimed that only 3.7 percent of people in Nevada had gambled online in the past five years.

"As it stands right now it appears to be a relatively low prevalence behavior," said Bernhard.

At last week's meeting of the Board the regulators decided on a "wait and see" approach. If there is evidence of significant interest among Nevadans in online gambling, the subject will be reconsidered in the national as well as state context.