Online poker has seen its fair share of ups and downs the past few years in the United States. During 2013, a number of states have contemplated legalizing online poker and leading from the front has been the state of Nevada.
Mark Lipparelli, the former Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman is someone who has played an important role in determining the future of online poker in the state of Nevada. Lipparelli was happy that Nevada was the first state to legalize online gambling and was of the opinion that it needed to lead from the front by allowing other states where online poker is banned to allows its residents to play online poker in Nevada.
In a statement, Lipparelli said
There are several opportunities where it may be something akin to a state allowing participation in gaming markets where such operations are legal and licensed. That’s an important component. I could foresee some jurisdictions incorporating a change in the law that says something to the effect of that if it’s a licensed entity from another jurisdiction that such play can take place within that border. That’s a simple and effective approach. Not every state is going to try to navigate a complex regulatory and licensing structure. It may be most expedient for them to pass some sort of permissive law, assuming at the core of that is that entities that can access those markets are legal.
The amount of revenue in taxes that online poker will bring in is huge and can be used by the state in a number of ways. However, it is a long drawn out process to review state legislature, pass a bill and then license online poker companies to launch their operations.
When asked about the Delware and the new method that it has adopted towards online poker, Mark Lipparelli said
Every state will have a slightly different set of criteria for how they set up, and in order for those states to interact everyone is going to have to remain fairly simple with their approach. Adding big complex operating agreements or compacts is going to make it very difficult once you get past the first state. I’ve made this point in the past; that even though the federal window is probably closed, the state-to-state regime is going to be a very complex animal, and the way to keep the complexity to a minimum is not to enter into far-reaching agreements because the next jurisdiction that gets added…you don’t want to be put in the position of having to make too many concessions. It could potentially block the ability of states to enjoy cross-market play. Delaware obviously is going to have to entertain the notion of cross-market play every bit as much as Nevada and New Jersey.
