Nevada Gaming Policy Committee to Discuss Online Poker

Online poker will be front and center this week when the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee meets to discuss the state’s imminent iGaming industry.
Anna Thornley, senior research specialist with the Nevada Gaming Commission, will lead a presentation at the June 14th meeting which will focus on an “overview of states’ online gaming licensing requirements and online fee structures.”
American Gaming Association President Frank Fahrenkopf will start the meeting with a presentation on the state of the online gaming industry in the U.S. The AGA has long lobbied Washington for online gaming regulation on behalf of U.S. casino groups. More recently, the association has turned its attention to the increasing momentum of intrastate iGaming regulation in the US.
Steve Hill from the Nevada governor’s office will lead a presentation on the economic development opportunities in iGaming as part of the committee’s agenda on Thursday.
This will be the third meeting held by the Nevada Gaming Policy Committee after Governor Brian Sandoval reconstituted the dormant group in order to address Nevada’s advancement towards becoming a host state for legal online poker. The Nevada Gaming Policy Committee met in May to discuss online gaming security.
MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren, one of eleven Nevada Gaming Policy Committee members, intends to discuss the reduction of licensing fees for the state’s legal online poker framework. His company is in a joint venture with bwin.party to operate a web poker platform in Nevada.
Two software providers, Bally Technologies and International Game Technology, have already had their applications for a license in Nevada approved by the state’s Gaming Control Board. They await a June 21 date in order to have their software tested as a final step in the licensing process.
Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman Mark Lipparelli, a member of the committee meeting Thursday, has maintained a preference for federal legislation for online poker but acknowledges it is unlikely to happen. The Gaming Policy Committee will conclude their meeting this week by discussing ways to remain the leader in the race to create a legal online poker framework.
Those interested in details of the Thursday hearing would be advised to follow Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Howard Stutz on Twitter. Stutz has previously tweeted commentary from Nevada Gaming Policy Committee hearings.