[toc]Nevada was the first state to legalize online poker. The first law, passed in 2001, included both poker and casino games. The U.S. Department of Justice warned Nevada at the time that the activity may not be legal under federal law. They abandoned the plan for ten years.
The Nevada Legislature revisited the issue in 2011 when it passed a bill that developed the framework for regulated online poker.
In December 2011, the Nevada Gaming Control Board affirmed the regulations passed by the state legislature earlier that year. The state’s gaming commission drafted further regulations for legal online poker.
The Nevada Legislature only meets every two years. When it returned to session in February 2013, passing the new law was a priority of Governor Brian Sandoval. The bill passed and the governor signed it, all in one day.
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First legal Nevada poker site opened
Ultimate Poker became the first fully legal U.S. real money online poker room on April 30, 2013. At the Ultimate Gaming, a subsidiary of Station Casinos, owned Ultimate Poker.
Ultimate Gaming acquired CyberArts, an online gaming company, in 2011. This acquisition gave Ultimate Gaming a poker platform without having to develop one. GamesGrid used the CyberArts poker software in the unregulated U.S. market until 2006. Additionally, Gioco Digitale used the software in Italy by through 2010. Gioco Digitale was the first legal online poker room in Italy, according to CyberArts.
The CyberArts platform became dated. It did not offer features that serious players demand. This hurt the Ultimate Poker reputation from the first day.
The most basic software items were missing at launch. There were no player notes, seat adjustments, hand histories and games other than Texas Hold’em were not involved in the original version of Ultimate Poker. The server also crashed frequently. The software lagged and froze on players.
Players were quick to speak out against the poor product Ultimate Gaming released. The company did not even try to deny how bad it was and did little to improve it. Future updates did not address feature requests and only fixed lag and added Omaha and Omaha High/Low.
Second Nevada online poker site opens
WSOP.com launched on September 17, 2013. This was a few months later than anticipated. WSOP.com hoped to launch during the summer World Series of Poker in 2013.
888 provides the software to WSOP.com. It is similar to the platform used in the international market by 888. Features included graphical hand history, player notes and smooth software that did not crash. The same partnership between WSOP and 888 exists in New Jersey for online poker, but not online casinos.
It also included Omaha, Omaha High/Low, Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud High/Low. Players dumped Ultimate Poker quickly in favor of WSOP.com. It only took six weeks for WSOP.com to pass Ultimate Poker in terms of cash game players and become the largest site in Nevada.
Real Gaming became third Nevada poker site
Real Gaming, owned by South Point, became the third legal Nevada poker site in February 2014.
The Real Gaming software was of very poor quality at launch, even compared to Ultimate Poker. Real Gaming’s platform worked but offered nothing in its software, not even sit out or auto post blinds buttons.
Real Gaming has never managed to capture more than 1 percent of the Nevada market. Real Gaming shuttered in 2016.
Ultimate Poker failed
Ultimate Poker ceased operations in November 2014. The entire company went completely out of business at that time, citing a lack of demand and slow move towards legal online gaming in the United States.
Ultimate Gaming left the New Jersey market in October 2014. The company is now defunct.
Delaware and Nevada liquidity sharing agreement
The governors of Delaware and Nevada signed an agreement to share online poker players in February 2014. This partnership went live in March 2015.
WSOP.com linked its player pool with 888 in Delaware. This agreement had little effect in Nevada. Delaware only added about 20 peak players per day to the Nevada player pool.
The liquidity sharing agreement has not improved Delaware’s online poker performance, despite adding nearly 10 times the number of cash game players. Delaware continues to post the lowest online poker revenue totals every month, trending down with every earnings release.
New Jersey added to liquidity sharing agreement
New Jersey was added to the Nevada/Delaware online poker liquidity sharing agreement in May 2018. This more than doubled the number of players of the previous cash game network. It also gave New Jersey players to enter online WSOP bracelet events. A New Jersey resident won one during the first season of this in 2018. WSOP.com is the only company that operates in both Nevada and New Jersey, making it the only beneficiary of this pooled liquidity.
Nevada mobile online poker
WSOP.com offers a mobile app.
The WSOP.com app permits players to sit at one table. Texas Hold’em is the only game available. Players may choose between cash games, sit and gos and multi table tournaments. A cash game lobby is not visible. Players must click on available limits to see if there is any action. The sit and go and multi table tournament lobbies offer more functionality.
Mobile sports betting in Nevada
Nevada offers a product that is not legally available in any other state. Sports betting is permitted over the Internet and on mobile devices. This includes Android and iOS platforms.
Players may bet on football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, golf, auto racing, tennis and many more. Nevada also permits single sports bets. Parlays, teasers, futures and in-play are also allowed.
The device making the wager must be located in Nevada when making a bet. Bettors must create an account in person at an affiliated sports book before bets are accepted.
Some companies offer online depositing and withdrawals. Most require cash deposits and withdrawals at a sportsbook.
Nevada sports betting app companies include Caesars, MGM Resorts, Treasure Island, Golden Nugget, Station Casinos, Westgate, William Hill and CG Technologies.
Nevada online casino games
Nevada does not permit online casino games in the traditional sense. Nevadans may only play online poker and bet on sports away from a casino.
Inside a resort, players may use mobile devices to play slots, video poker and table games. There is no serious discussion to expand casino games to the rest of the state’s mobile devices.
Nevada Online Poker FAQ
Licensed Nevada casinos may offer online poker. Most large companies obtained a license but only three ever bothered to launch. The market is not large enough to carry any more than one or two sites. Software providers may supply platforms to casinos. Examples of this include 888 licensing its software to WSOP.com.
Nevada has a bad actor clause. A company that offered illegal online gaming to Nevadans after December 31, 2006 must sit out of the market for five years after the launch. Additionally, they consider all trademarks and software to be tainted assets forever.
Any person 21 years of age or older may play online poker in Nevada as long as they are physically located in the state at the time of play.
Geolocation software determines a player’s location in Nevada. The most common form is wifi positioning. This uses wireless router maps provided by Google to determine the location of a player’s computer or device. Also, if wireless positioning should fail, there is a backup system using cell phone triangulation.
Real Gaming requires a separate app for geolocation. You must downloaded this onto your smartphone. The, start the app before sitting down at a table. Players without a smartphone are unable to play at Real Gaming.
Nevada’s poker sites accept electronic checks, Visa, Mastercard, Neteller, Skrill, PayNearMe, bank wires, PayPal and cash at the related casino.
WSOP.com accepts deposits at Rio, Caesars Palace, Paris, Harrah’s and Planet Hollywood.
Both Nevada poker sites offers check and cash withdrawals. WSOP.com also offers electronic checks, Neteller, and PayPal.
Most Nevada sports betting apps require deposits in cash at an affiliated sportsbook. Station Casinos offers a prepaid debit card. This permits credit and debit card deposits via Visa, Mastercard and Discover, as well as bank transfers.
William Hill accepts PayNearMe. This is a cash transfer service. Players can deposit at any 7-11 in Nevada. The maximum deposit through PayNearMe is $500. William Hill also offers kiosks at more than 100 taverns throughout Nevada on kiosks. You will find most are located in PT’s Taverns and other Golden Gaming establishments.
Most Nevada sports apps require players to pick up winnings at an affiliated sportsbook window.
Station Casinos is the exception. Station Casinos offers a prepaid debit card. Players can use this at any ATM or any retailer that accepts Discover. Some Nevada sportsbooks will mail players a check.
The Nevada Gaming Commission has one of the best reputations in the world. The vetting of licensed operators and employees screens out those with a history of unethical behavior. Licensing also encourages companies to operate legitimately through fear of losing licenses and or facing criminal prosecution.
Online gaming software must be tested for fairness. This includes the random number generators. Gaming sites must segregate player funds in separate accounts not related to operations. All bets must be paid in a timely manner.
None of these regulations apply to sites located outside of Nevada that operate without a gaming license. There is no reason to make bets at sites that are unlicensed in Nevada. A Nevada player giving action to offshore sites is at the mercy of an unlicensed company.