The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) recently made a request to publish the names of poker players who were banned from participating in online poker games. Caesars Entertainment Inc, the only company that actually offers online poker games in Nevada, hasn’t agreed with Assembly Bill 380.
Caesars’ arguments against the bill:
Vice President of online poker at the company, Danielle Barille, and Mike Alonso, one of Caesar’s lobbyists, told the Assembly Judicial Committee that the company is against the bill, even if some critical points were removed.
Alonso commented on that: “Caesars is doing everything it can reasonably do to keep bad actors off the site based on its terms of service. In other words, bad actors shouldn’t be on the site, and you shouldn’t be playing against them.”
However, NGCB claims that this bill will be a significant step towards increasing transparency in the poker industry and that a poker-centered list would reduce cheating and violations in poker games. The recommended list is similar to the List of Excluded Persons that already exists. It is known as the Black Book, and it consists of the list of the players that violated the gambling and gaming laws in the past, including the ones who cheated, were included in human trafficking in the casinos, and were thieves.
However, Alonso believes that this list would have some severe consequences. He thinks that it would provide less transparency and that it would cost Caesars and its customers much more than expected. One of the most severe consequences is litigation for damaging players’ reputations. There are also players who would believe that they lost their money because of cheating and would require compensation from the company.
Advanced systems and more concerns:
Currently, Caesars has a system that can recognize cheaters and ban them from playing.
Since the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement was established in 2014, the players from Nevada can compete against each other, as well as against the players from Delaware, New Jersey, and Michigan, which makes a list even harder to follow through and establish.
Barille said that every player was closely monitored through modern algorithms and software. The staff is also there 24/7 to help in discovering cheating, so the list isn’t necessary at the moment since it would also require employing additional staff to keep things in order and keep the list updated.
The Gaming Control Board still hasn’t commented on the bill. However, Virginia Valentine, the president of the Nevada Resort Association, also isn’t sure about the necessity of the bill. She said that there was a concern related to the customers’ database, which would be violated if the bill was approved.
She added that the industry and the NGCB already have a close relationship, and they together take care of everything, including investigations about cheating. However, the Nevada Resort Association hopes that they will have an opportunity to further discuss the bill with the lawmakers.