Now that the Nevada online gaming jurisdiction is in full force, it’s important to know what’s involved, including all of the current updates and companies that have licenses.
As Jon Friedberg explained in his exclusive interview about getting his affiliate license, the licensing process is quite involved and requires a lot of time and money. Most applicants are mid-sized to big companies that have a team of local lawyers and on-staff consultants that work on legal jurisdictions or emerging markets.
Here’s the breakdown– in simplest form– of what you need to know.
- The Nevada State Gaming Control Board Gaming Commission stipulates that interactive gaming relates to: “Interactive gaming account” means an electronic ledger operated and maintained by an operator of interactive gaming wherein information relative to interactive gaming is recorded on behalf of an authorized player”.
- The basic steps involved during the application process for the license, are an initial ($500,000) fee and ($250,000) renewal license fees. Investigation fees apply and the interactive gaming system must be reviewed and approved by the commission. (Please note that these fees are for Operators, not Affiliates.)
- The investigation also requires and that the FBI does a search of your past activities and confirms if you do or don’t have any criminal offenses.
- There is a long list of ongoing requirements (Regulation 5A) that the licensed operator must abide by and prove they have the ability to maintain like: Internal controls, crime prevention, access to records, establish house rules, registration of authorized players, maintain interactive gaming accounts, cash reserve requirements, progressive payoff schedules, provide information on the company web site and adhere to specific advertising practices.
- A Nevada licensed affiliate should make sure that any operator they’re promoting complies with the non-deceptive advertising and promotions code that includes any promotion related to interactive gaming shall clearly and concisely explain the terms of the promotion and adhere to such terms.
- Furthermore, operators must provide respective information on their web sites pertaining to problem gambling and that no person will be allowed to gamble online under the age of 21. This includes active links for information on problem gambling and to the state gambling control board.
- There is a lot of interest from companies to get a license and the demand remains high. To date there have been a total of over 32 licenses awarded and they include 11 operators, 17 manufacturers, and 24 service providers. The most recent are NRT, WMS, South Point Poker LLC, Global Cash Access Holdings Inc., Aristocrat, William Hill, Bally Technologies Inc. and Shuffle Master Inc., of Las Vegas, including IGT and Monarch Interactive Inc.