Nevada Wireless Gaming Bill

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Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Prospects Are Good for Nevada Wireless Gaming Bill

Little opposition was heard today at a Nevada State Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on a bill that would allow the state’s casinos to offer wireless gaming on their properties. No amendments were offered, and no vote was taken.

During the nearly two hours or testimony on AB 472, a bill that would authorize the use of mobile communications devices for gambling, some committee members expressed concerns about the expansion of gambling in the state and the possibility of increased problem gambling. Those concerns seem to have been put to rest, however, and insiders believe the bill has a good chance of passing in the committee.

The bill was put on the committee’s agenda for Thursday’s meeting, during which a vote is likely to take place. If the bill passes in the committee, it will be placed on the Senate calendar for a vote before the full chamber, which could happen as early as Friday. It was passed unanimously in the General Assembly in April.

Joe Asher, a Las Vegas-based attorney representing Cantor Fitzgerald, said his client is ready to bring to market a system that would enable resort operators to offer games like slot machines, video poker, craps, roulette and baccarat through wireless devices throughout their premises. All the company needs at this point, he said, is regulatory approval.

In response to concerns voiced about the spread of problem gambling, Asher has taken a position long held by proponents of Internet gambling regulation.

“Problem gambling is an issue across the board for our industry,” he Asher testified. “With a system like this, we have the technology that, if anything, will cut back on the amount of problem gambling instead of increasing it. We will be able to monitor loss limits and gambling activity better through these devices than what we can now at a property.”

He added that at least three major strip properties have expressed an interest in Cantor Fitzgerald’s system.

Another company with a vested interest in the bill, Diamond I Technology, is ready to launch its Wi-Fi-based casino product, pending legislative and regulatory approval. Its Nevada-based attorney, Scott Sheer, said it’s too early to tell what the demand will be like from properties, but Diamond I has seen a great deal of early interest from possible licensees.

Diamond I President David Loflin is optimistic about the bill’s future.

“We are very pleasantly surprised with the lack of opposition for the bill today,” Loflin said. “I am sure a lot of that has to do with wording that was taken out of the bill restricting the use of the devices to a property and not allowing them in rooms. We would have loved in-room gaming, and it sounded like a lot of operators were interested in that too, but at this point we are willing to work within the parameters of the bill.”

Bob Faiss, an attorney with Lionel Sawyer & Collins in Las Vegas, said Nevada regulators are more than capable of drawing up rules for wireless gambling.

“The greatest asset Nevada has for investors is the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission,” Faiss said. “Investors know if you move forward with this bill that the regulations are going to be done properly and make sense for everyone involved, and that can’t be said of every jurisdiction in the world.”

Likewise, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander, who has taken a neutral position on the bill, told committee members that he’s confident regulators can create an adequate set of guidelines and standards if the legislature passes the bill.

If the bill becomes law, the process of creating regulations would take six to nine months, meaning properties could be offering wireless gaming by year’s end.