ZZZ - GMG - VEGAS INC 2011-2014

October 03, 2011

VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more

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IN BUSINESS GAMING ONLINE POKER HEARING REVEALS LITTLE TENSION OVER PROPOSED REGULATIONS By Richard N. Velotta senior staff writer If the process for approving online poker regulations goes as smoothly as last week's workshop explaining the proposed rules, Nevada will have a document in place in no time. The state Gaming Control Board spent just an hour and 15 minutes fielding questions and taking testimony on a proposed new iGaming regulation and amendments to five other regulations that would pave the way for the state to become the first in the nation to have rules in place to oversee Internet poker as soon as the federal government legalizes it. No controversy arose from the packed hearing room filled with industry attorneys, former regulators, representatives of companies that intend to have a role in online poker play and several players. Proposed Regulation 5A on the operation of interactive gaming outlines licensing, internal controls, record- keeping, player registration, fees, dispute resolution and the reporting of suspicious wagers. The state's new law and the regulations clearly require that the state not grant any licenses until federal law authorizes interactive gaming or the board or commission is notified by the U.S. Department of Justice that it is permissible under federal law to operate interactive games. The state legislation authorizing interactive gaming currently sets licensing fees at $500,000, with $250,000 annual renewals and $125,000 for service providers with $25,000 annual renewals. The state law also mandates by when THE ECONOMY NEVADA HAS BIGGEST PERCENTAGE DROP IN WAGES By Karoun Demirjian staff writer Add one more measure to the economic indicators in which Nevada ranks worst: biggest drop in wages. The Senate Joint Economic Committee, a bipartisan group of 20 members of the House and Senate, put out a report last week about the rising poverty rate nationwide. Their findings, based on census data collected between 2007 and 2010, focused on comparing household median income over time and across states. Nevada's median income fell the most of any state between 2007 and 2010: 11.9 percent. It's a big drop. But it doesn't mean Nevadans are the poorest — not even by a long shot. Nevada's median household income in 2010 was $51,001 — about $1,000 higher than the national average — and the percentage of its population living in poverty (defined as $22,350 for a four-person household) was 14.9, lower than the national poverty rate of 15.3 percent. In a state-by-state ranking, Nevada sits smack-dab in the middle in measures of poverty: 25th from the bottom and from the top (New York state's poverty rate is also 14.9 percent). Those middling percentages represent 398,000 people living at or below the poverty line in Nevada. The bulk of them are children. HIGHLIGHTS OF REGULATION 5A Proposed Regulation 5A outlines licensing, internal controls, record-keeping, player registration, fees, dispute resolution and the reporting of suspicious wagers. Here are highlights from it: n All interactive gaming systems must be both reviewed and approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission. n Ongoing testing of interactive systems, including oversight to protect a player's identity and account information, is required. n To register a player, an operator must verify the identity of the individual, affirm that the player is at least 21, capture the location of the player and ascertain the player isn't in the state's "Black Book" of excluded casino patrons. n Records of all financial transactions, wins and losses, must be kept and players can't be extended credit. n Poker is the only game incorporated into the regulations. n Operators must report suspicious wagers within seven days. n Interactive gaming licenses are separate from existing gaming licenses, so prospective licensees will be required to pay fees for iGaming licenses. regulations must be approved, with a Jan. 31 deadline. The Gaming Control Board's timetable says the board and the Nevada Gaming Commission are expected to conduct public hearings at their November meetings with the commission expected to take final action at its December meeting. Board members also reviewed amendments to five other regulations that have passages related to interactive gaming systems. Regulations 3, 4, 5, 8 and 14 have such passages. Because there were so few comments at last week's session, Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli indicated an additional workshop meeting scheduled this month may not be needed. "I think we're fairly close," Lipparelli said after the meeting. "I think we have a solid foundation, but there may be changes based on written comments that were submitted." He said about 12 submissions were presented. Representatives of some of the companies that presented written testimony indicated they preferred to keep their comments confidential to protect business strategies. During the meeting testimony, the only hint of controversy came when an interactive gaming expert, attorney Tony Cabot, sought clarification on whether the state believed the federal government ban on online poker included intranet as well as Internet play. He suggested that both should be restricted the same way so that some companies could not get a competitive advantage above others. But former state Gaming Control Board member Randall Sayre said he believed the legislation approved by lawmakers didn't address in-state intranet play at all. Another speaker, RedRockOne CEO Michael Jabara, encouraged the board to adopt the regulations as quickly as possible so that Nevada could maintain a competitive advantage against other states that may be considering the regulation of online gaming.

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