Nevada Shelves Online Gambling Plans For Now Based on Survey

Details of the study conducted by the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) International Gaming Institute, which was commissioned by the Nevada Gaming Control Board to study whether Nevadans are gambling on the Internet and to investigate their habits and attitude toward the activity, are now in the public domain and contain surprising results.

Recognizing that online gambling itself is not illegal, and that the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) permits states to control gambling on the Internet within their own borders, and in response to interest shown by technology companies and other parties wishing to explore setting up online gambling sites in Nevada to cater only to Nevada residents, Gaming Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander commissioned the UNLV study in 2006.

"Anecdotally, we were told the activity was going on," Neilander said. "That led to a policy question; if this is something that is going on, isn't this something we ought to regulate and tax? We felt you really can't make decisions without appropriate research."

Such online gambling sites for Nevadans would also require action by the Nevada Legislature.

Last Friday, the Institute presented its findings to a special joint meeting of the Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission (which would write any policy regarding Internet gaming by Nevada residents).

NEVADANS ARE NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN ONLINE GAMBLING

Gambling Institute director Bo Bernhard told the Nevada Gaming Control Board that respondents were surveyed in January 2007. Follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted throughout the year with 27 of the respondents, including 18 active online gamblers.

According to reports in The Las Vegas Review Journal (LVRJ), over 96 percent of the 1,000 respondents in the survey said they were not really interested in online gambling.

"It became clear that events contemporaneous with our work may have chilling effects on the patterns of online play," Bernhard is quoted as telling the Board. "This research was conducted during an interesting point in time."

The survey began just 3 months after the passage of the UIGEA and the same month that Neteller co-founders were arrested and US Dept. of Justice crackdown on several sports betting sites and their execs continued during the year.

Of the 3.7 percent of respondents in Nevada who replied that they do gamble online, most play poker or wagered on sports, are predominately male, and are not completely comfortable with the integrity of online gaming.

They also noted that gambling online does not affect their gambling habits inside Nevada [land] casinos, which we surmise must have been a relief to the physical casinos.

TIMID ABOUT REPORTING THEIR QUESTIONABLY LEGAL ACTIVITY

Director Bernhard, who oversaw the yearlong study with assistant director Tony Lucas, warned regulators that respondents are not always forthcoming when asked about what he called "deviant behavior." The number of Nevadans gambling online may actually be higher because respondents could have been reluctant to admit to a questionably legal activity.

Nevertheless, the number of Nevada respondents saying they had gambled online was statistically similar to the number of national respondents who participated in a 2006 online gaming survey conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based American Gaming Association.

Bernhard said those respondents that had gambled online liked the activity's low cost. Others use online gambling as a way to teach themselves about different games of chance. The survey also found that nearly nine out of 10 Nevadans who had not gambled online said they were "not at all likely" to participate in online gambling even if the state licensed and regulated the activity.

Current online gamblers, Bo Bernhard said, had strong concerns about the legal status and the unregulated nature of the activity and would have more of a comfort level if Nevada regulated online gambling.

Bernhard said the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points because of the large sampling.

Control Board member Mark Clayton said that because the study's findings showed such a small number of gamblers wagering online, he didn't believe Nevada casino operators would undertake the effort toward setting up Internet gaming sites within Nevada borders for Nevada residents.

More Poker News Articles

Fabrice Soulier Joins Everest Poker's Pro Roster
12am Thu Nov 26th, 2009

To further strengthen its support for French poker in anticipation of the opening of that market, Everest Poker has signed renowned French poker pro Fabrice Soulier as its latest ambassador.

HHPT Co-Sponsors Bayou Poker Challenge Ladies Event Dec. 20
12am Wed Nov 25th, 2009

The HighHeelsPokerTour (HHPT), the first all women's poker tour launched on the East coast, will wrap up their 2009 schedule at Harrah's New Orleans on December 20th where they will co-sponsor the Ladies Event #14 no-limit Hold'em at 12 pm.

OPPAGA Reports on Florida's Online Poker Options
12am Tue Nov 24th, 2009

Given that UIGEA permits individual states to regulate online poker, the Florida Legislature's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) published a report this week presenting three options available to Florida State lawmakers in order to protect consumers from unlawful internet poker: regulate it, prohibit it, or carry on with the status quo pending federal legislation.

BC Poker Champion Arrested, Charged with Manslaughter
12am Tue Nov 24th, 2009

Just two days after taking down the BC Poker Championships Main Event, Sophon Sek of Cloverdale, BC, was arrested in connection with one of the most storied crimes in the Province's history.

Local Businessman Bags European Poker Tour Vilamoura Bling
12am Sun Nov 22nd, 2009

The European Poker Tour rolled into the Casino Vilamoura last week, instantly generating the richest poker prize pool in the nation of Portugal's history.

Keikoan Captures Harvey's Lake Tahoe WSOPC Championship
12am Thu Nov 19th, 2009

This week marked the finale of the biggest annual tournament series in Northern Nevada, the WSOP Circuit championship at Harvey's Lake Tahoe. While the Main Event saw only a modest turnout, it did boast of a tough final table, and a WSOP bracelet owner as the eventual champion.

WSOP Main Event Champ Joe Cada to Appear on Letterman
12am Wed Nov 18th, 2009

The poker world will receive some late night attention tonight as "The Kid" Joe Cada, the youngest champion in the four decade history of the World Series of Poker Main Event, takes a seat next to embattled talk show host David Letterman.

First Korean Champ of Asia Pacific Poker Tour Crowned in Cebu
12am Tue Nov 17th, 2009

Another stop on the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is in the books, this time it's the APPT Cebu in the Philippines, and for the very first time a Korean player has come out on top.

Pollack Done as Commish of World Series of Poker
12am Sat Nov 14th, 2009

Just three days after crowning Joe Cada as the 2009 Main Event champion, officially closing the special 40th anniversary run of the World Series of Poker, Jeffrey Pollack has resigned his post as Commissioner of the WSOP.

Durrrr Signs as Team Full Tilt's Youngest Member
12am Wed Nov 11th, 2009

Tom "durrrr" Dwan is the newest member of Team Full Tilt, the online site's highest level of affiliation. At 23, Dwan is the youngest of the now 14-person team. The high stakes cash phenomenon was nominated for induction this year into the Poker Hall of Fame until the Hall of Fame Governing Council decided he was too young to meet the "has stood the test of time" qualification.