Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Non-Tech : Gambling, The Next Great Internet Industry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: kidl who wrote (506)	4/10/2001 9:17:55 AM
From: Herc	Respond to of 827

Internet gambling bill clears key hurdle By Erin Neff <erin@lasvegassun.com> LAS VEGAS SUN CARSON CITY -- A bill to legalize Internet gaming in Nevada has overcome its toughest obstacle. A last-minute objection from slot-machine manufacturers March 31 postponed the passage of Assembly Bill 296. But the deadline for the manufacturers to offer amendments passed quietly last week without a peep from them. "The manufacturers no longer object to any part of this," said Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, chairman of the Assembly's Judiciary Committee, which is hearing testimony on the bill. Now AB296, sponsored by Assemblywoman Merle Berman, R-Las Vegas, will head into a work session Tuesday that could result in its passage from Anderson's committee. From there it likely faces clear sailing through the rest of the legislative process. The bill would allow the state's Gaming Commission and Gaming Control Board to license hotel-casinos that want to launch Internet gaming sites. If the measure passes this legislative session and is signed by Gov. Kenny Guinn, it will be the first such law in the nation. "There are still some concerns about stepping forward into this new area," Anderson said. "This could be a very dramatic step for this state." Berman's bill has the kind of support that gets anything in Carson City passed into law. Gaming is squarely behind it as a way to broaden customer bases and the branding of corporate names. Only resort hotels with nonrestrictive gaming licenses will be allowed to offer gaming over the Internet. On Tuesday two amendments will be offered. One will change the definition of resort hotel-casinos to enable hotel-casinos in counties other than Clark and Washoe to have Internet gaming sites. The original definition would have limited resorts to those two urban counties. The other amendment is offered by the Gaming Control Board to clarify its role in formulating any licensing plan for Internet operations. The bill does not mandate that state regulators license such endeavors, it merely gives them the ability to do so when they are ready. During the March 31 hearing on the bill, Sam McMullen, a lobbyist for the Association of Gaming Equipment Managers, expressed concern about whether slot manufactures were being excluded from a potentially lucrative business. However, no amendment was offered, those close to the bill say, because slot manufacturers such as International Game Technology Inc. are discussing possible ties with casinos to have some of their noted games offered on the Internet. Berman said she is confident the bill can now pass committee, and ultimately reach the governor. Tuesday's Judiciary Committee meeting begins at 8 a.m. After testimony on several bills, the committee will enter its work session. The meeting will be televised in Las Vegas in Room 4412 of the Sawyer State Office Building, 555 E. Washington Ave.

To: kidl who wrote (506)	4/17/2001 7:59:41 AM
From: Herc	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 827

Interactive Gambling Bill Clears Nevada Assembly Committee by Fred Faust, RGTonline.com The Nevada bill that authorizes interactive gambling cleared a major hurdle this afternoon, when the Judiciary Committee of the Nevada Assembly passed the bill unanimously. The entire Assembly now has until April 27 to approve the bill and send it to the state Senate. If the state Senate passes the bill before the legislature adjourns in early June and Gov. Kenny Guinn signs it, Nevada will become the first U.S. state to legalize interactive gambling. The bill, AB 296, is an “enabling bill,” however. It would permit Nevada regulators to issue regulations and licenses for interactive gambling only if they conclude that it conforms with “all applicable laws” and can be properly regulated. Guinn won’t say whether he will sign the bill, which is supported by the state’s major hotel-casino operators and their trade group, the Nevada Resort Association. Its sponsor is Assemblywoman Merle Berman, a Republican from Las Vegas. Two amendments were discussed and then passed by the Committee this afternoon. One broadens the definition of companies that can be licensed to offer interactive gaming. As originally written, the bill would have only applied to already licensed hotel-casinos in Nevada’s two largest counties, Clark (Las Vegas) and Washoe (Reno). As amended, the bill would apply to businesses that hold a non-restricted gaming license, have a bar that can seat at least 30 people, have at least 120 hotel rooms, have a restaurant with a capacity of at least 60, are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and have a gaming area that contains at least 18,000 square feet with at least 1,600 slot machines. That language was used to ensure that no “major facilities” in Washoe County are excluded, Whittemore stated. The other amendment approved by the Committee stipulates that manufacturers of interactive gambling systems must go through the same licensing process that Nevada requires of manufacturers of real-world gaming equipment, and that the Gaming Control Board will be able to assess fees to covers its costs for investigating applicants. Tonight is the deadline for committee action in the Assembly or Senate. Any bill that dies in committee is dead until the legislature meets again in 2003. The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to resume work tonight on another bill (AB 578) that deals with gaming licenses, fees and taxes. Proposed amendments to that bill include stiff fees for interactive gaming licenses. Operators would have to pay a nonrefundable application fee of $100,000. The license itself would cost $1 million for two years, payable in advance. An assemblyman from a rural district complained that smaller companies could not afford such hefty fees, and would be unfairly excluded from offering interactive gambling. The high fees were the idea of Committee chairman Bernie Anderson, a Democrat from Sparks, who said he wanted to make sure that state regulators’ costs in developing and enforcing rules for “this new form of gambling” were covered by those who may be licensed to offer it. “Maybe this is not open for everybody in the state,” Anderson said. In response to a question, Harvey Whittemore, a lobbyist and partner in the Nevada law firm of Lionel, Sawyer & Collins, said the proposed licensing fees are 10 to 20 times the fees for bricks-and-mortar casinos. Whittemore, representing the Nevada Resort Association and MGM Mirage, the state’s largest employer, said his clients had promised Anderson that they would not oppose the high fees. Slot machine manufacturers are opposing a tax proposed for manufacturers of interactive gambling equipment. Under an amendment to AB 578, they would have to pay a 20 percent tax on the revenue they receive from online casino operators