While the Mississippi intrastate online poker bill officially died this week, other states are still working on legalizing and regulating intrastate poker.
The Mississippi Lawful Internet Gaming Act of 2012 indicated rules that would regulate the state’s online gambling industry via the Mississippi Gaming Commission, the same forum that regulates casino gambling, legal in the state since 1990, but this unfortunately is not going to happen.
Other states however are on the right track for legal intrastate gambling, Nevada most significantly, which is its way to being the first state to allow real money intrastate online poker. Other states with online poker regulations in the works include Iowa, California, and New Jersey.
Nevada will likely see intrastate online poker go live later in the year or early next year, and many believe it will only take one state to legalize intrastate online poker before others follow suit. Already 24 potential operators have applied for Nevada licensing including Caesars Entertainment, MGM Resorts, Bally Technologies, 888 Holdings, and Bwin.party.
Evaluations for applications will take place in late spring, early summer. Chairman of Nevada Gaming Control Board Mark Lipparelli says that applicants that are “thoughtful about their approach and had their systems reviewed” could possibly be operating “by late fall and certainly by late winter or the early part of 2013.”
New Jersey is close behind, but has not made the strides that Nevada has. New Jersey still needs both the state’s House and Senate to pass the bill and then get the approval of Governor Chris Christie, who has already vetoed a formerly passed bill back in January 2011.
