It’s been a long, slow road for the cause of online gaming in the United States; ever since the US Department of Justice effectively outlawed internet gambling in April 2011 those who want to partake in a little online gaming have been denied the chance. Now, state be state, small sections of the population are looking forward to spinning the reels and dealing the cards.
States have been able to get themselves online since the federal government decided late in 2011 that intrastate online gaming was permissible as long as it was limited to residents living within that state. While this change was not enough for those pushing for full, federal legalisation, others saw it as an opportunity to at least get a foot in the door and to be prepared for when the opportunity to go nationwide does eventually come about.
Most of the current attention is being focused on New Jersey but Nevada and Delaware were the first two states to get their act together in respect of online gaming. Nevada could be viewed as something of a guinea pig after being the first to kick off in May; those companies previously viewed as a little dodgy (Absolute Poker, Full Tilt Poker to name a couple) have all been elbowed out of the way and the new companies will be run by ventures set up by existing bricks and mortar casinos such as Station Casinos and Atlantic Casino Resort Spa.
Delaware would like to begin gaming at the end of September while New Jersey expects to kick off in November; both states will be keeping an eye on Nevada to try and identify any issues which crop up.
Interestingly there is already some talk in Nevada regarding interstate connectivity between itself and neighbouring California, although that would appear to contravene current federal regulations. Nationwide gaming may eventually creep in via the backdoor if enough states begin to link up with each other.
So no-one quite knows what’s going to happen in Nevada, Delaware or New Jersey but there’ll be plenty of states watching with interest from comfortable vantage points.