A bill introduced in the Nevada Assembly meant to provide transparency for online poker is being criticized for putting iGaming operators in a position to create what would amount to a Black Book of excluded poker players, a role designated to Nevada regulators for physical casinos.
The bill, sponsored by the Assembly Judiciary Committee, would require the Nevada Gaming Commission to create a list of people whose online gaming accounts have been suspended or banned. As drafted, the legislation would require online poker operators to provide the names. Additions to the Black Book of excluded persons from Nevada casinos require approval by the commission and the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
According to a report in the Nevada Independent, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager is working with Sara Cholhagian Ralston, a professional poker player who was formerly executive director of the Nevada Patient Protection Commission, to modify the language of the bill.
“The intent is to protect players,” Ralston told the newspaper. “A lot of these online players hide behind a screen name. We have no idea who they are. The idea is to provide more information to the player.
“This was never intended to be an overburden on the operator, because cheating is so hard to define, especially in the online space. How do you prove it and how do you not interfere with a criminal investigation? That’s not the intent.”
