Nevada casinos warned to keep distance ....

Nevada casinos warned to keep distance from foreign Internet gambling companies

According to this story in the Law Vegas Review-Journal, the Gaming Control Board of Nevada, is advising gaming registrants to keep their distance from Internet gambling companies that accept bets from Americans. The issue arose after two poker events sponsored by foreign Internet gambling companies were hosted by two Las Vegas casinos, and after news surfaced that foreign Internet gambling operators were teaming up with US land-based casino operators to provide Internet gambling services to Americans in anticipation of a US federal approval of a proposed Internet gambling bill.



From Las Vegas Review-Journal


Questions about the business relationships arose after two poker events earlier this year on the Strip.

In February, The Venetian held the inaugural event of the North American Poker Tour, which is sponsored by PokerStars.net. In the $5,000 buy-in event, 872 players entered, including 25 who qualified through PokerStars.net.

In March, Caesars Palace hosted the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. The event did not have an online poker sponsor but a related televised poker event, "Face the Ace," was filmed in several Las Vegas casinos and sponsored by FullTilt.net.

The World Series of Poker, which began last week and is televised throughout the year by ESPN, is in the second year of a sponsorship deal with Everest Poker, an online gaming site whose logo is placed on tournament gaming tables. Everest Poker, which is based in Malta, does not accept wagers from Americans.

Gaming regulators are currently investigating the suitability of 888, an online gaming company based in Gibraltar that is providing software for Harrah's Entertainment to manage three Internet gambling sites in the United Kingdom, which do not accept wagers from Americans.

The issue marks the first time Nevada regulators are investigating the suitability of an online gaming company that accepted wagers from Americans before the act's 2006 adoption.