Wireless gaming could radically change industry
A bill pending in the New Jersey legislature that could literally put a roulette wheel in the palm of a gambler’s hand has major implications for any area involved in US gaming — which is practiced in some form in all but three US states, Tennessee, Utah and Hawaii.
The reason the legislation is important is that it is "an attempt to recognize we have a generation of young adults who are used to getting their recreation and communications from the palm of their hand," in the words of sponsor Sen. Jim Whelan of Atlantic City. The legislation would permit authorized games on approved devices within a casino property.
"Wireless gambling — or mobile gaming, as it is called by the industry — has the potential to radically change how casinos do business," says The New York Times.
Gambling would become a continuous activity. Which is exactly what casinos want: for their customers to gamble as much as is humanly possible, the newspaper adds.
Nevada became the first state to allow wireless gambling in any casino’s public areas, including restaurants, lounges or even by the pool in 2006.
"It falls short of Internet gambling and gambling in areas that can’t be monitored, like hotel rooms. However, it is a major step in the runaway juggernaut that is the teaming of technology and gambling," said the site onlinegamblingmagazine.
Gamblers, many of them presumably younger, are interested in this type of gambling, according to various studies.
"We feel that becoming an early player is worth the financial risk," said Amy Monette, director of International Game Technology, a company that has been a leader in promoting internet gambling.
The US government came down on internet gambling with passage in 2006 of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. But that has been followed by other legislation and the US Department of Justice last year gave the industry what some news sources called "a big present, two days before Christmas." Justice ruled that individual states could legalize betting for casino games such as poker.
The Casino Association of New Jersey supports the current proposal there. They say it allows the US’s second-largest gaming jurisdiction to keep current with new trends.
"This is an exciting area we need to address, and New Jersey can be the forefront," said Joseph Tyrrell, an attorney who represents the Casino Association.
David Rebuck, director of the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, has said he is confident New Jersey can develop regulations to ensure the integrity of the wireless gaming devices, as well as the ability to keep them out of the hands of children, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
By David Wilkening
David
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