MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle is calling for Nevada to legalize online casinos, saying it will not hurt land-based properties. [Image: Shutterstock.com] Missing out on the action
MGM Resorts CEO Bill Hornbuckle is in favor of Nevada legalizing online casinos. He made these comments on Sunday during a panel discussion at IndyFest, explaining that the gaming industry in the state is currently “missing a significant opportunity for growth.” He added that many of the owners of land-based casinos in the state are against this form of expansion.
Hornbuckle is of the belief that there is a way in which online casinos can be legalized and that the local casino market also is kept protected. He said: “We’re not interested in my mother sitting on her couch in Henderson, gaming.”
Instead, companies like MGM Resorts are looking at creating a worldwide business. Opposition in the state
In August, a group of gaming operators led by Station Casinos spoke about their opposition to the expansion of online gambling in Nevada. This group said that any proposals to make changes should be looked at by the governor’s Gaming Policy Committee and get ultimate approval from lawmakers in the state.
Online poker has been legal in Nevada since 2013, but only one platform, WSOP.com, is currently up and running. Ultimate Poker was the first online poker room in the state, opening in April 2013, but it closed about a year and a half later.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board had previously scheduled a workshop hearing in May about potentially legalizing online casinos. However, the regulator said it was postponing the hearing until after the adjournment of the legislature in June. The hearing has not been rescheduled.
Hornbuckle believes that the traditional land-based casino market in Las Vegas is saturated and that building new casinos in the city in the future will not really make economic sense. He believes that Las Vegas will not see a new brick-and-mortar casino “for a long, long time.”
He is also in favor of allowing remote registration for online sports betting accounts in Nevada. Currently, people have to register for an account in a […]
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