'Net gambling 101' seminar planned by regulators

CARSON CITY - Nevada's top casino regulators are getting a crash course next month on the burgeoning Internet gambling industry.

"It's going to be Internet gaming 101," Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Brian Sandoval said Wednesday about a day-long seminar scheduled to ensure that he and the other four commission members understand the thorny issue.

Sandoval said a general outline of online betting around the world will be followed by pro and con arguments during the seminar, tentatively set for April 13 in Las Vegas.

"I don't want people to think this means we're going to legalize this," said Sandoval. "State law makes it illegal. But the commission must get very familiar with Internet gaming because we're going to be confronting the issue in the future."

Internet wagering "is here, and here to stay," added Sandoval. "We need to be better informed about it."

The commission's seminar parallels an expanded review by its investigative arm, the state Gaming Control Board, into Nevada licensees with ties to the online gambling industry.

The Control Board says several of the biggest entities and individuals in licensed Nevada gambling are dabbling in Internet ventures that have come under increasing scrutiny.

In addition to Nevada's ban on Internet gambling, there's a federal prohibition against online sports betting. And a bill that passed the U.S. Senate last year would make it illegal to bet on casino-style games online. A companion bill is pending in the House.

The number of online casinos has mushroomed from 15 in 1996 to more than 700 today. Revenue to the roughly 200 companies that operate those sites is estimated to reach nearly $1.5 billion this year and $3 billion by 2002, industry research shows.

By comparison, the nation's 450 commercial casinos took in $20 billion in 1998, while 160 American Indian casinos had $7.2 billion, according to the American Gaming Association.

Cybercasinos accessible to U.S. players are headquartered offshore, from the Caribbean to Europe to Australia. Such gambling is legal in about 20 countries.

Control Board Chairman Steve DuCharme has said the potential for problems with Internet gambling is a bigger concern for casino-dependent Nevada than the prospect of increased competition from expanded Indian gambling.

"At least with tribal gambling we can determine if there's a legitimate compact with a state," he said. "But with Internet gambling we don't have that luxury."

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