Nevada opens pathway to legal Bitcoin gambling in the US

[cptmooseinc]

According to this article, http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Nevada-Legislature-passes-online-gambling-law-4297758.php, Nevada has now just opened a pathway to legalizing internet gambling in the US.

If Nevada can successfully get other states on board as "partner states", then a gambling network that can operate from Nevada, but allow players from all "partner states", could come online. Theoretically, this would allow a proper, legal venue for gambling with Bitcoins. If such a thing were to come to fruition, I imagine it would be possible for a chain-style of business to open in each "partner state" that would act like an internet-cafe where players could come in, buy bitcoins with cash, sit at a computer, and gamble online playing numerous types of games.

This is all, of course, if Nevada can get other states to partner with it. Still though, it's a very interesting revelation that some should pay close attention to. I know $500,000 seems like a lot for a license, but in all reality, the potential for profit would be ridiculous, and I'm sure the backers of SatoshiDice wouldn't think for half a second about dropping that kind of cash.

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[notig]

sometimes it seems like government is an extortionist.

[Melbustus]

Unfortunately I think with explicit legality, sites will be far less likely to embrace bitcoin quickly.

[Mvann]

Isnt technically bitcoin poker legal in US already? seems to atleast be in the gray zone as its not yet defined as "real money"

Several of the bitcoin casinos are operating on servers located in the US actually..

[cdog]

Isnt technically bitcoin poker legal in US already? seems to atleast be in the gray zone as its not yet defined as "real money"

Several of the bitcoin casinos are operating on servers located in the US actually..

Yes, its only illegal for banks to process gambling transactions. Playing is not illegal at all.

[Atruk]

Isnt technically bitcoin poker legal in US already? seems to atleast be in the gray zone as its not yet defined as "real money"

Several of the bitcoin casinos are operating on servers located in the US actually..

Memorize this line:

No officer, I wasn't gambling. I was playing this massively multiplayer augmented reality game called Bitcoin on the Internet. Gambling minigames are just part of the larger Bitcoin game.

And to whether bitcoins are real money:

Officer of course the coins in the game Bitcoin aren't currency. They are simply the credits you acquire to keep playing the game. When you lose all of your coins you are out of the game. It's just like Mario except the coins you have left represent the remaining life you have in the game.

And when they ask what sort of fantasy elements are in the game:

Of course there are fantasy elements, I play the game as a troll.

[sinner]

$500k for a license? not for bitcoin poker sites. fk the government

[cptmooseinc]

mvann,

No, poker is not technically legal in the US right now. It's technically legal for a state to setup an online poker game and run it within its own borders, and banks can even accept deposits for such a game, but it's still illegal to play across state lines. Nevada's law here would circumvent that and make it legal for so-called "partner states" to participate in the same network. Basically, it sounds like each state could authorize the use of such gambling in partnership with Nevada, then players from all partner states would be allowed to register, deposit, and play fully-legal poker.

This would finally make interstate online gambling legal again. It doesn't just pertain to poker either, as the law applies to internet gambling as a whole on a very broad note. The right operator could get in on this using bitcoin, place ATMs, that I posted about in another thread, all throughout partner states to allow for quick depositing to wallets for your account at the site, and verify all players identities to make sure they actually were playing from one of the partner states as to not get in hot water for allowing anyone with a bitcoin wallet to play.

It's a step in the right direction, I feel.

[sinner]

yes, it is legal to play online poker in USA (not Washington state tho).

[Micon]

Hi,

I have been following this story for years and years.

1)  There will very likely be a Nevada legal online poker product very soon from many of the top dogs here in Vegas.  Look for WSOP online, Bellagio online, and Southpoint seems aggressive to list them as one of the first to launch

2)  what the product will look like, no one knows.  It may be something very awesome, like $1 max rake and every state except the obvious ones participating:  Hawaii, Utah have a 0 gambling policy & Washington state's state legislature is bought and paid for by the Indian casinos around there that are terrified of online poker.  When it lauches it may look like something really bad, i.e. $5 max rake and only Nevada-based pros sitting on there all day.  We really don't know.

3)  Prolly won't be for bitcoin sites.  With a high fee (250k-500k) and the fact that you must conform to all Nevada Gaming laws it would mean a site like Satoshi Dice would somehow need to check an ID to make sure the bettor was over 21 and pay NV all it's profits until now (and do that every year - that's a yearly $250k or something to have an online poker licence in NV)  So really, it would be pointless to add the bitcoin layer to this model.

Clearly I'm a very interested party in this, and will be having on "Pokerati Dan" to explain this further from a legal perspective on DD radio tomorrow.