Nevada has authorised gaming compacts with other countries, as the Silver State vies with New Jersey to establish itself as the regulatory and business hub of a future US online gaming industry.
AB360, passed by the Assembly and Senate on Monday, amended February’s AB114 to “allow agreements for interactive agreements to be made with governmental bodies of other nations, states or local bodies exercising governmental functions.”
According to the Section 12 of the new law: “Upon recommendation of the Commission, the Governor, on behalf of the State of Nevada, is authorized to a) Enter into agreements…with other governments whereby persons who are physically located in a signatory jurisdiction may participate in interactive gaming conducted by one or more operators licensed by one or more of the signatory governments.”
The new law allowing Nevada-licensed operators to eventually mingle their player pools with those elsewhere could prove critical in enabling them to overcome the restricted liquidity within Nevada and to build competitive online poker businesses there, ahead of those licensed in other US states.
Provisions allowing the signing of international compact agreements had already been included in the online gaming frameworks of New Jersey and Delaware, the other two US states to pass enabling legislation.
Nevada however, which has less than three million permanent inhabitants, insufficient to sustain a viable intrastate poker business among the 13 bricks ‘n’ mortar casino owners already licensed as interactive operators, has to date shown little appetite for compacting with New Jersey, despite several of its licensees operating in both states.
Silver State lawmakers have made it clear in public statements that they perceive New Jersey as a rival in the race to become the business and regulatory hub for igaming in the US, the sponsor of AB 114 William Horne stating in February after Nevada had managed to pass its legislation first that: “They [New Jersey] should be accustomed to following Nevada.”
Nevada and several of its licensees, specifically Caesars, were also understood to lack comfort with New Jersey’s removal of “bad actor” clauses from its legislation to clear the way for PokerStars to apply for licensing as the owner of the struggling Atlantic Club casino, a purchase which eventually fell through.
The failure of federal government to pass online poker legislation has brought compact agreements to the fore as US states begin to address potential liquidity problems. States entering into agreements with other states, countries or tribal nations with different tax regimes will also have to navigate the complex area of how to divide the spoils.
Article written by Stephen Carter
