A new piece of legislation in the state of Nevada has moved forward after a vote of 23-17 in the Assembly. The bill, AB 414, is a piece of legislation backed by Sheldon Adelson and would limit the online gaming compacts in Nevada made with other states to just poker gaming. The vote was close, with two members abstaining from the voting process.
The bill was first introduced on the 19th of March and has moved quickly through legislature. The bill has now moved on to the Senate committee for voting. The bill must move out of the committee by May 15th or will die in process.
The state of Nevada only offers online poker and does now have any house banked games online. In Delaware, the liquidity partner of Nevada, poker and traditional casino games are offered online. The state of New Jersey is the only other offering online gaming options and they are not in a compact agreement with Nevada.
Nevada and Delaware just recently began sharing player pools as part of a liquidity agreement which was signed last year by both governors of each state. It took close to a year to see the two states actually move forward and share player pools.
The AB 414 legislation is the latest attempt of Adelson to control online gaming within Nevada. On top of this legislation, Adelson is of course pushing for a federal ban of online poker across the United States with the Restoration of America’s Wire Act. The federal legislation does not look as though it will pass within 2015.
We will keep you updated as this legislation moves forward within Nevada. Proponents like ourselves would like to see the state remain open when it comes to online poker gaming. Only time will tell if the latest legislation will move forward and pass a Senate vote.
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