Online gambling no dice in Nevada
by Brian Vance and Charlie Hammond, Outpost staff
If you have considered gambling online from within Nevada, think again.
In 1997 the Nevada Legislature enacted four new subsections of Chapter 465 of the Nevada Revised Statues. The purpose of these four subsections, NRS 465.091 - .094, is to outlaw online gambling in the state of Nevada.
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"It is illegal to accept or place a wager within the borders of the State of Nevada," said Dennis Neilander, a commissioner for the Nevada State Gaming Control Board.
Essentially, no one can run a gaming web site within the state, nor can they place a wager on-line within the state. But there isn't much Nevada can do to stop you from trying.
The Gaming Control Board has a special staff whose job it is to monitor illegal Internet gambling using special software called "Who Is It?" Yet Neilander says it is hard to enforce the Internet gambling law because the "Who Is It?" software only works with certain Internet Service Providers. According to the district attorney's office no one has been prosecuted for illegal online gambling in Nevada.
"Because Internet gambling is, in most cases, either interstate or international, it can be very difficult to monitor transactions," Neilander said.
Setting up a gambling web site isn't that difficult, given modern software, but it can be expensive. Steve Ducharme, Chairman of the Gaming Control Board, believes that the chance of getting caught, though slim, is enough to deter people.
"It would be highly unusual for someone to invest millions of dollars in an illegal activity," Ducharme said.
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The Gaming Control Board is hoping that the passage of the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act (the Kyl Bill), a bill that would make Internet gambling illegal in all 50 states, will bring about more effective ways to combat Internet gambling. The Kyl Bill, whose major backers are Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona and Sen. Richard Bryan of Nevada, has passed the Senate and is awaiting action in the House.
"I believe the Kyl Bill will eventually pass both houses in some form or another," Neilander said.
Meanwhile the Gaming Control Board is hoping the threat of possible prosecution and jail time will keep Nevada residents from gambling online.
Nevada is joined by five other states, including Wisconsin, New York, Indiana, and New Jersey, who have also outlawed online gambling.
Nevada state laws concerning online gambling:
NRS 465.091 defines "mediums of communication" as mail, telephone, television, telegraph, facsimile, cable, wire, and, of course, the Internet. Since a person using a computer to gamble on-line is utilizing one of these means, the Net, he is breaking the state's laws, even if he is accessing an out-of-state site.
NRS 465.092 makes it a misdemeanor for one to knowingly accept, directly or indirectly, a wager (through any medium of communication stated above) from another person who is physically within Nevada state lines.
NRS 465.093 outlaws the reciprocal of the previous one. It makes it a misdemeanor for someone, in or outside of Nevada, to place, send, transmit, or even relay (through the mediums of communication) a wager to a person or establishment either in or outside of the state.
NRS 464.094 allows for loopholes; namely, gambling operations licensed by the Gaming Control Board. Race books and sports pools, which rely heavily on phoned wagers, are exempt from the statutes, provided the board licenses them.
Thus far, no Internet gambling sites based in the state have been licensed, ostensibly to protect the casinos from competition.
Posted May 1, 2000
Copyright 2000 Nevada Outpost
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