 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! |
Gaming News
GAMBLING MARKET CONTROLS IN NEVADA28 July 2002Nevada''s antitrust laws for casino operators are extremly vague to arcane. Regulators and casinos are forced to spend time and money trying to review and interpret them. A rush of gaming industry mergers and buyouts of Las Vegas Strip casinos has added to the need in clarifying those regulations. The state Gaming Control Board held a workshop Wednesday in order to discuss the options for controlling the casino market share and setting limits upon it. These are, in fact, anti-monopoly actions, taken in order to prevent major corporations taking control over most of the casinos on the Las Vegas strip. The chieflobbyist for Nevada casinos said that creating rules that could exempt smaller companies makes sense. Under the proposed regulations, casino operators applying for additional licenses could control no more than 10 percent of the gambling market statewide, no more than 40 percent countrywide, and no more than 60% of a distinct local market. Casino operators applying to lisence more thanone location meet several conditions, such as making sure market concentration can''t hurt employees, suppliers and consumers. While some state’s biggest casino operators, which already have exceeded the proposed percentages, will likely to express most concern, it is may be misplaced. Companies above the treshold for market concentration probably wouldn''t be denied a lisence outright, but would trigger a review of their business plan. A second public workshop is expected next month in Carson City. The final regulation would require a vote by the Nevada Gaming Commission before it becomes law. |