Class 1, 2, or 3 Servive Provider? Good read!
On June 21, 2012, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved the first interactive gaming licenses pursuant to the recently enacted regulations governing Internet gaming. Specifically, within a span of a couple of hours, Bally Technologies and International Game Technology (IGT) each received unanimous approvals from the commission to be licensed as a manufacturer of interactive gaming systems and as an interactive gaming service provider. These are the first such approvals issued in the United States by a regulatory authority.
In the upcoming months, many more interactive gaming applications will appear before Nevada’s Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission. However, there is still much work to be done before Internet poker “goes live” in Nevada.
By way of background, in December 2011, the Nevada Gaming Commission adopted several new regulations intended to govern Internet poker in Nevada. These regulations set forth three new classifications of license:
1. A manufacturer of interactive gaming systems license
2. An operator of interactive gaming license
3. A service provider license
The first two categories of licensure are rather selfexplanatory. A manufacturer’s license allows the holder to manufacture, assemble or produce an interactive gaming system, whereas an operator’s license lets the holder run an online gambling establishment and take bets online within Nevada. The scope of a service provider’s license, however, is less obvious and is currently a potential cause for confusion. (This article is written as of June 28, 2012.)
A service provider means a person who, in pertinent part: