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IN BUSINESS RULING ON GAMING SPURS CALLS FOR FEDERAL LEGISLATION ONLINE POKER, FROM PAGE 7 legislation is Mark Lipparelli, chairman of the state Gaming Control Board, who fears that a lack of clarification could lead to online pandemonium. "A piece of federal legislation is going to be a necessity," Lipparelli said. "What we're afraid of is that somebody's going to do it in a way that has an unattractive outcome. The question is how we create a common set of standards and rules." He compared the prospect of states having different online poker standards to the confusion that would result if every state maintained its own unique system for purchasing products online from a retailer like Amazon.com. In light of the new interpretation, Lipparelli expects there will be some form of online poker play before the end of 2012, but what it's going to look like will depend on whether federal lawmakers act. Lipparelli said Nevada legal experts were carefully reviewing the Justice Department opinion, written by Deputy Attorney General Virginia Seitz. Lipparelli is hoping an interpretation will be available by February to guide the Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission on licensing applications that already have been filed by companies that initially looked to offer intrastate poker play after the commission's Dec. 22 approval of new and amended online poker regulations. "The structure is in place and people can apply now. And if they meet the standards, we have the ability to approve them," said Gaming Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard, who was cautious in evaluating whether online poker would be a reality anytime soon. "It could be a major change, or much more of the same," Bernhard said. The American Gaming Association, which represents more than 60 commercial gaming companies and organizations in the United States, also renewed its call for federal legislation of online poker. "The Department of Justice's interpretation regarding the scope of the federal Wire Act validates the urgent need for federal legislation to curb what will now be a proliferation of domestic and foreign, unlicensed and unregulated gaming websites without consistent regulatory standards and safeguards against fraud, underage gambling and money laundering," the association said in a statement issued after the Justice Department release. "Federal legislation that protects states' rights can establish uniform safeguards to protect U.S. consumers, keep children from gambling on the Internet and provide the tools law enforcement needs to shut down illegal Internet gambling operators. "Federal guidelines also would prevent fraud and money laundering, address problem gambling and ensure players aren't being cheated. These federally mandated protections are vital no matter the interpretation of the Wire Act, and they must be enacted in order to avoid a patchwork quilt of state and tribal rules and regulations that would prove confusing for customers and difficult for law enforcement to manage." Lipparelli says the prospect of a new revenue source for the federal government would be too great to pass up. Experts believe online poker could be a $5 billion industry in the United States. Other analysts noted additional possible repercussions as a result of the new interpretation. Bill Lerner, of Union Gaming Research in Las Vegas, said the ruling could lead slot machine manufacturers to develop wide-area progressive jackpots — a type fed by players at multiple sites through machines that are linked electronically — that not only would appeal to players but generate more revenue for the companies. "To date, wide-area progressives have been limited to intrastate connections," Lerner said in a note to investors this week. "The upshot is significantly larger jackpots on wide-area progressive machines and progressive table games due to the greater number of unit connections possible for many of these titles." ® WWW.LASVEGASSUN.COM BEST COMMUNITY SERVICE ON A MEDIA-AFFILIATED WEBSITE with 1 million unique monthly visitors and over BEST ENTERPRISE FEATURE ON A WEBSITE with 1 million unique monthly visitors and over | 9 JANUARY 2012 | WWW. LASVEGASWEEKLY .COM BEST ENTERTAINMENT WEBSITE with 250,000 to 1 million unique monthly visitors 9 WWW.VEGASINC.COM BEST BUSINESS/FINANCE WEBSITE with 250,000 to 1 million unique monthly visitors