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

To: Herc who wrote (707)	9/28/2001 11:30:23 AM
From: kidl	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 827

Friday, September 28, 2001 Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal Experts: Web gaming may ease economic woes Regulators urged to move swiftly By JEFF SIMPSON lasvegas.com GAMING WIRE Internet casino gambling could be the tonic to cure Las Vegas' recent economic woes, industry experts said Thursday. Casino-industry layoffs in the city number an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 workers, and state gaming tax revenues are expected to decline because of a sharp downturn in tourism in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. Internet gambling analysts and a Nevada legislator attending a two-day conference at the Bellagio argued that state regulators need to move swiftly to allow Las Vegas gaming firms to operate Web-based casinos. "We don't know how long this downturn will last," said Bear, Stearns & Co. casino industry analyst Marc Falcone, whose company's top economist this week said the American economy is now in recession. "(Nevada-regulated Internet gaming) represents a strong opportunity to enhance revenue." Falcone said his firm expects airlines to cut 10,000 to 16,000 airline seats flying into Las Vegas on a daily basis, about 15 percent to 25 percent of the 65,249 average daily air seats McCarran International Airport reported in August. Internet gaming is a smart way to make up for the losses faced by Nevada operators and the state tax coffers, Falcone said. But several speakers, citing the recent Internet casino license awarded to MGM Mirage, warned that Nevada regulators must act quickly. MGM Mirage, Nevada's largest employer, plans to spend up to $30 million to develop its casino site on the semi-independent Isle of Man, and hopes to have the casino running within a year. "Am I glad MGM Mirage (plans on operating a Web casino from the Isle of Man)?" Nevada Gaming Control Board member Scott Scherer asked. "No. We'd prefer they stay in the state. But they're free to go, as long as they (comply with all applicable laws)." State lawmakers passed a bill in June allowing the Nevada Gaming Commission to craft rules allowing state casino operators to operate Internet casinos, providing key conditions were met. The commission must decide that Nevada-based Web casinos comply with all applicable federal and state laws. The biggest legal barrier slowing the action is a 40-year-old federal law designed to combat sports betting over interstate phone lines. The federal Department of Justice's position is that the law blocks Internet casino gambling as well as sports betting. The commission must also determine that minors can be kept from betting and that people can't wager from countries or states where cyber-gambling is illegal. Assemblywoman Merle Berman, R-Las Vegas, said state regulators are moving too slowly. "Time is very critical to us as a state," Berman said. "Once gaming leaves here, it's gone forever. I want this process (leading up to Nevada regulating Web gambling) to be done by June 6, 2002 (one year after her original Internet gambling bill, after several transformations, became law). One year is more than enough time." The control board's Scherer said he didn't think the rules could be crafted within a year, and Falcone noted that the rules-writing process would take at least 18 months. Berman said the looming budget crisis resulting from the expected sharp dip in gaming tax receipts could be partially offset by Web gambling taxes. "My bill was done for tax purposes," she said. "We need to do this, and do it now."