Sandoval rejects licence fee hike as NV bill passes

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval has passed into law legislation which allows the Silver State to enact interstate egaming regulations without prerequisite federal progress.

Earlier iterations of the law had required a federal bill to pass before the Nevada interstate egaming market could open, however Sandoval moved to swiftly push through a new version ahead of a vote in New Jersey next week which could have seen the Garden State claim first-mover advantage.

The governor rejected proposals from Assembly Majority Leader William Horne to double the licence fee to US$1m, however a ‘bad actor’ clause was retained, blocking the immediate entry of certain operators that accepted US player funds after the passage of UIGEA in late 2006.

The bill had pledged to “[Prohibit] the issuance of a license to operate interactive gaming for a period of 10 years after the effective date of this bill for certain entities that, after December 31, 2006, operated interactive gaming involving patrons located in the United States,” however this exclusion period has been halved to five years.

“Finally, section 10 authorizes the Commission to waive such prohibition if the Commission determines that those entities complied with all applicable provisions of federal law or the law of any state when, after December 31, 2006, those entities operated interactive gaming involving patrons located in the United States,” Horne’s amendments.

This element would also apply to any interstate agreement entered into by Nevada, however it remains unclear whether the likes of PokerStars ““ that admitted no wrongdoing in last year’s settlement with US authorities and is currently pursuing a New Jersey licence ““ could be one of those excluded.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sandoval said the passage of the “Extraordinarily important bill to our economy” was “Important because there are other states that are looking at this as well, specifically New Jersey.

“We’re not trying to be first for the sake of being first but we are prepared to move forward,” he added.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie issued a conditional veto on his state’s egaming proposals earlier this month, however a hearing next Tuesday will see a vote on a number of potential amendments in line with Christie’s demands. The governor admitted last week that the inclusion of these amendments would leave him with “no reason not to sign”.

Multiple egaming operators and service providers have already been awarded licences in Nevada, including Bally, SHFL and South Point Poker. Another licence applicant, 888, has seen its share price rise by 5% today following the announcement of the bill passing.