Nevada regulators are looking to approve some form of account wagering for slots, video poker and bingo similar to what gamblers use for race and sports betting and betting online.
Current state rules provide for different types of accounts for pari-mutuel, online and mobile gaming, and the Gaming Control Board is looking to harmonize them, “to bring them all into alignment so they have the same requirements for each, with only minor variances,” said board Chairman A.G. Burnett.
The new regulations are based on changes to state gaming law made during the 2015 legislative session to accommodate skill-based gaming?the motivation being to remove barriers and mirror trends in other parts of the economy, according to Burnett, who said the industry is asking for it.
“What we’re doing is making it easier for the patron,” he said. “We are moving from a cash-based society to an electronic payment-based society, and these regulations are attempting to address that. Specifically, we will be changing the definition of a wagering voucher to include digital payments. We’re trying to move an all-digital representation of a wagering voucher.”
Nevada, like most other gaming jurisdictions, has been reluctant to allow gamblers to use credit cards because of concerns about problem gambling. But the new regulations could change that.
“Credit and debit cards are specifically prohibited (by state law) to directly fund a game,” Burnett explained. “The key word here is directly. These new account regulations currently allow wagering accounts to be funded by debit and credit cards since they are not directly funding the game itself.”
The board has scheduled a workshop to discuss the proposed changes, and Burnett said harm minimization will be part of the discussion. Representatives from the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling said they planned to attend, according to news reports.
