Nevada Passes Historic Online Interstate Poker Bill – What’s Next?

Nevada had already passed legislation making it legal to enjoy some online poker in the Silver State, but just last week they also became the first state to legalize interstate gambling. The historic bill signed by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval means that Nevada will actively begin to pursue interstate online gambling agreements with other states.

Last week New Jersey joined the three-state online gaming party which includes Nevada and Delaware when Governor Chris Christie signed a bill legalizing online gambling in the Garden State.

On February 7, Christie vetoed a proposed online gambling bill, promising to pass a revised version “the next week.” Nevada quickly got all their ducks in a row and rushed to pass AB114 before New Jersey or some other state legalized interstate gambling ahead of them. The move makes Nevada the undisputed leader in a growing online gambling community in the United States, something that was not possible until December 2011.

That was when the United States Department of Justice issued a letter a couple of days before Christmas, stating that the federal Wire Act of 1961 only applies to sports betting. That was quite the holiday present for online gamblers living in the US. With the passage of the new Nevada interstate legislation, Ken LaMance, attorney and editor for LegalMatch Law Library, exclaimed “the U.S. online gambling industry has been reborn.” The new legislation will allow the Nevada Gaming Commission to authorize Governor Sandoval to sign online gambling agreements with other states.

New Jersey is expected to pass similar legislation very soon. LaMance said that the only question now is how many states will come forward and pass online poker online gambling legislation to take advantage of this interstate offering by Nevada. It is hard to tell exactly what this means to the online poker player living in the United States, but LaMance and others believe as more states legalize online gambling, the effect will be exponential. Online gambling is expected to be a multibillion-dollar business, immediately providing substantial revenue in the form of licensing and regulation for the states which offer it.

Currently, Pennsylvania, California, Idaho, and a few other states are close to legalizing online gambling in some form as well. And with more than two dozen companies already signed up, registered, and licensed to offer online gambling in Nevada, residents of and visitors to that state will have abundant online poker options very soon. New Jersey passed a comprehensive casino game online gambling Bill, and Nevada’s bill currently only applies to online poker.

View our list of nevada online poker rooms and see what sites have been legalized and which ones are close.