Monday September 09,2013 : FEDERAL LEGALISATION OF ONLINE POKER WINDOW NOW CLOSED
Former Nevada regulator says things have gone too far on a state-by-state basis for federal legalization to take hold now.
The highly respected and experienced former regulator, Mark Lipparelli, gave an interesting interview with Card Player over the weekend, opining that the window of opportunity for the federal legalization of online poker has closed, and that interstate collaboration will be the next step.
A former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Lipparelli elected to stand down after three years' service in the post and return to private practice in September last year, having been in the hot seat at a key phase in the Nevada legalization process.
Lipparelli said that interstate collaboration to widen player liquidity pools could begin as early as next year, but warned that it would be important for states to avoid overly lengthy and complex agreements that could create problems further down the line for other states going the legalization route and wanting to join.
"Instead, permissions between states are more likely the way to go," he said.
There would be a need for a common approach to the fundamentals if collaborative efforts are to be efficient and practical, he opined.
Lipparelli, who was formerly a proponent of federal legalization, expressed the view that it was now too late for effective federal intervention, saying that window of opportunity for Congress had closed.
"There are several markets that are in the process of opening; commercial commitments have been made and licensing events have taken place. The time [for federal lawmakers] to act was during the last 24 months. The complexity associated with unwinding now is probably too great," he said.
See the full interview here: http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/16102-former-nevada-gaming-control-board-chairman-talks-about-how-online-poker-arrangements-between-states-might-look