Nevada State Approves Caesars Ties to Online Gambling

Last week Nevada Gaming Commission voted to allow the biggest international land-based casino company to enter into business relationship with an online gaming company based in Gibraltar.

This is the first time that an official state regulatory body has acknowledged and approved a tie between a US based company and an internet gaming operation in the face of the murky legal status of online gaming in the US following the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

The UIGEA, passed in 2006 under W. Bush administration has thrown the online gambling industry into troubled water and forced many online gaming operators to stop accepting US players and close their US offices.

In the last couple of years great efforts were made by individual states to try and pass intrastate laws that will allow to license and regulate online poker operators that will offer their services to local residents.

The Nevada Gaming Commission permitted the ties between Caesars Entertainment Corp. and 888 Holdings PLC, one of the biggest online gaming operators and a London Stock Exchange traded company based in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar that provides its online gaming license.

The new business ties allow Caesars to operate online gaming portals in the United Kingdom and other European countries using the Caesars brands such as Caesars Palace Casino and Resort and the World Series of Poker to name but a few.

This approval coincided with an initial hearing over a proposed state bill to legalize statewide online poker. A bill that is heavily endorsed by the biggest online poker site PokerStars but is opposed to by Caesars that wish to drive a nationwide legislation rather than local state legislation.