Online betting whiffs in Nevada

Nevadans aren't really interested in online gambling. At least, that's what more than 96 percent of people told questioners in a study conducted for gaming regulators by UNLV's International Gaming Institute.

But those Nevadans who do gamble over the Internet -- 3.7 percent according to the sample of 1,000 residents surveyed -- mostly play poker or wager on sports, are predominately male, and are not completely comfortable with the integrity of online gaming.

Meanwhile, those who do gamble online said the activity does not affect their gambling habits inside Nevada casinos.

The Gaming Control Board asked the institute in 2006 to study whether or not Nevadans are gambling on the Internet and to investigate their habits and attitude toward the activity.

Institute director Bo Bernhard said respondents were surveyed in January 2007. Follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted throughout the year with 27 of the respondents, including 18 active online gamblers. Bernhard said all the participants were assured confidentiality because of concerns over the legality of the activity.

The interviews helped researchers probe deeper into the attitudes and activities of online gamblers. However, the arrests of several high-profile online gambling executives, anti-Internet gambling activity in Washington, D.C., and the shutdown of some online gambling sites took place during 2007 while the research was being conducted.

"It became clear that events contemporaneous with our work may have chilling effects on the patterns of online play," Bernhard said. "This research was conducted during an interesting point in time."

Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander said the panel wanted a better understanding of the online gaming activities of Nevada residents. Several technology companies and other parties have expressed interest over the years in potentially setting up online gambling sites in Nevada that would cater only to Nevada residents. The concept would require action by the Nevada Legislature.

Neilander and fellow board members questioned if Nevadans were in fact gambling on the Internet.

"Anecdotally, we were told the activity was going on," Neilander said. "That led to a policy question; if this is something that is going on, isn't this something we ought to regulate and tax? We felt you really can't make decisions with appropriate research."

Neilander said it is not illegal to gamble on the Internet, but it is a violation of federal law to operate a gambling site that accepts wagers from Americans.

On Friday, the Institute presented its findings to a special joint meeting of the Gaming Control Board and Nevada Gaming Commission, which would write any policy regarding Internet gaming by Nevada residents.

Bernhard, who oversaw the yearlong study with assistant director Tony Lucas, cautioned regulators that respondents are not always forthcoming when being questioned about what he termed "deviant behavior."

The number of Nevadans gambling online may actually be higher because respondents could have been reluctant to admit to a questionably legal activity.

Nevertheless, the number of Nevada respondents saying they had gambled online was statistically similar to the number of national respondents who participated in a 2006 online gaming survey conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based American Gaming Association.

Bernhard, who had to answer questions after the formal presentation from his father, Gaming Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard, said the qualitative research provided substantive information. Most of the online gamblers, he said, like the activity's low cost. Others use online gambling as a way to teach themselves about different games of chance.

The survey also found that nearly nine out of 10 Nevadans who had not gambled online said they were "not at all likely" to participate in online gambling if the state licensed and regulated the activity.

Current online gamblers, Bo Bernhard said, had strong concerns about the legal status and the unregulated nature of the activity and would have more of a comfort level if Nevada regulated online gambling.

"It's ironic that they think it's illegal, yet they still participate in the activity anyway," Gaming Commissioner Ray Rawson said.

Control Board member Mark Clayton said that because the study's findings showed such a small number of gamblers wagering online, he didn't believe Nevada casino operators would undertake the effort toward setting up Internet gaming sites within Nevada borders for Nevada residents.

Bo Bernhard said the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points because of the large sampling.

Contact reporter Howard Stutz at hstutz@reviewjournal.com or (702) 477-3871.