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Independent Testing Labs | Nevada Online Poker

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In June of this year The Nevada Gaming Control Board approved two separate companies to act as independent testing labs for interactive gaming. The companies are Gaming Laboratories International, LLC and BMM International, LLC. The Silver State is exhibiting an encouraging amount of forethought as it forges a regulatory framework for online poker.

Outsourcing this work has several important benefits. First, the pace of technological change in both software and Internet access technologies is so fast that government employed regulators will have a very difficult time keeping up. They lack the resources and expertise that super specialized technology companies have. Regulators will be able to leverage this expertise and focus on enforcing rules, setting policy, staying current with the innovations and broad trends in the industry, and certifying the independent testing labs.

According to newly passed interactive gaming laws in Nevada, manufacturers will pick up the costs off the testing labs. Once the equipment or software platform has passed this round of testing it will face a final round of examination by the Gaming Control Board Staff.

The survival of online poker industry will fully depend on the security and fairness of the game. The old world/first wave of illicit poker sites that dominated the early 2000s will not suffice in the new era of legal, state (or federally) sanctioned, and taxed poker. Online poker, with real money wagering, is legal in Nevada now. It will be subject to fierce scrutiny and there will be zero tolerance for shenanigans by site owners and cheaters.

Independent testing labs will be expected to constantly test the security of sites and will be responsible for identifying potential vulnerabilities as early as possible. One can envision these companies tenaciously working to find weak points before the criminals and fraudsters have a chance to exploit them.

The first two companies approved by Nevada have longstanding reputations within the gaming industry. Gaming Laboratories has, over the past two decades, tested and certifed gaming devices in hundreds of gaming jurisdictions worldwide. Interactive gaming and online poker are relatively new fields, however the company does have some experience in testing online gaming systems. Both companies are gearing up for this new business by expanding their facilities and hiring more staff.

Online Poker Legislation

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The rebirth of online poker in the U.S.

The worldwide phenomenon of online poker is about to enter a new stage as gaming industry titans quietly prepare for its legalization in the United States. The largest and most lucrative market for online poker players is poised to set the framework for the future of the industry. A lot is happening behind the scenes.

Casino companies know how big the industry had become at its peak and how quickly it grew. The largest online poker site, Pokerstars, celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2011 with a huge schedule of tournaments capped off by a $10,000,000 guaranteed prize pool Main Event. The overall prize pool for the series was down significantly from the year before mostly due to the lack of U.S. based players.

April 15th 2011, or “Black Friday” as it became known amongst online poker players, saw the shutdown of the largest poker sites: Pokerstars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker. Overnight, millions of players in the U.S. were cut off.

Online poker in the U.S. basically went dark. Players were unwilling to sign up to smaller, even riskier, sites that were still “open” to U.S. players. Player accounts at Full Tilt were supposed to safely house deposits estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars when the site was shut down – money that will never be seen again. Players will be eager to play, however security will be the number one concern.

There is momentum building behind the legalization of online poker in the United States. The Justice Department released a 13 page legal opinion in September 2011 which clarified a decades old federal law which prohibited interstate gambling. Some in the gaming industry view this as an early move to legalize interstate online poker.

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), an advocacy group in favor of legalizing online poker, is pushing for federal controls over licensing and regulation of poker websites to better protect players and avoid conflicting and potentially confusing state laws.

In response to the Justice Department ruling the PPA had this to say:

“This will provide policy makers at both the state and federal level with the legal confidence to move forward with licensing and regulation of online poker and other non-sporting activity within their respective jurisdictions. However, it is our hope that our federal policy makers see this as an incentive to move quickly to enact federal licensing and regulation before various states produce a mix of individual state schemes that may not be the best model to serve consumers.”

Read the rest of the PPA press release here:

PPA Applauds DoJ Ruling: Online Poker Does Not Violate the Wire Act Calls on Congress to Act Quickly to Pass Federal Legislation

2012 is shaping up to be an extremely active year for the industry. Beyond just reading the latest headlines, poker players—from hobbyists and those seeking entertainment to professionals—need to get involved. The time is right for players to band together and become a force in shaping the future of the industry. Poker sites are nothing without members—they should have to work hard to attract and keep those members.

ameripoker.com is dedicated to finding ways to ensure that the voice of poker players is heard by the new poker sites that are currently under development. The competition for loyal customers who:  1) generate income for the site; and 2) keep valuable funds on deposit; will be fierce. Players should not underestimate the leverage that they have in dealing with these new sites once the gold rush is on…probably starting in 2013.