Casino Scam Report – Delaware and Nevada have high hopes to launch their newly approved internet gaming agreement this summer and Gov. Brain Sandoval is hoping after recent talks with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie that more states will join in on the compact.
Sandoval is urging stated to join as he promises a regulatory structure along with his states capabilities to supply an infrastructure for states lacking a current platform. “I think it’s important for them to know that we’re capable of doing this. I trust the regulatory process we have. We vetted this with Delaware for several months and we’re currently building the platform.” – Gov. Brain Sandoval
The Governor is also pushing for a “poker only” internet gaming in Nevada as he believes that is what “works well because Nevada is not like other states” in that Nevada has restricted gaming and neighborhood casinos. Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, reintroduced a bill for restoration of a pre-2011 federal ban on gambling over the Internet. The bill is said to mirror the beliefs of outspoken Sheldon Adelson’s coalition to ban internet gambling. The current draft is said to “restore longstanding United States policy that the Wire Act prohibits all forms of Internet gambling.” The bill however does exempt pari-mutuel betting on horse races.
Sandoval is optimistic and doesn’t believe the bill could shut down existing online gaming networks and questions whether federal law could come in and supersede our state’s laws. In related Sands/Adelson news, New York-based Jason Ader, also a Las Vegas Sands Corp. board member, became the second-largest shareholder in Bwin.party, the online gambling company, formed by the March 2011 merger of PartyGaming plc and Bwin Interactive Entertainment AG.
Ader acquired a 6 percent stake in the London Stock Exchange-listed business in February and which many believe will put the former Wall Street gaming analyst at odds with billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson. Ader commented on Adelson’s thoughts stating, “I gave him the heads-up. He always agrees to disagree, and that’s why he likes having independent voices on his board. I never would have made the investment without him knowing.”
