Q:
There was a news item in the Las Vegas Sun (8/30/2008) that indicated the ban on cell-phone use in Nevada race & sports books had been repealed. I personally felt this was great news and way overdue for such an antiquated law. My question is related to this, in that I was wondering if I can take a laptop into a sports book? My favorite time in Vegas in during the NCAA Basketball Tournament (March Madness), and I would love to have access to my computer to use as a resource to determine my next bets.
A:
As of August 21, 2008, cell phones will now be allowed in Nevada race and sports books, overturning a ban that's been in place since 1999.
Regulation 22.135, which prohibited the use of electronic communications devices, was put into place by the Nevada Gaming Commission almost a decade ago as a means of both preventing sports book patrons from communicating with illegal bookies and precluding the use of runners by professional sports-betting syndicates. It was an unpopular regulation and often bewildering to the uninitiated; someone in line, for example, might be asked to step outside and miss getting his bet down on a race in order to take a call from his wife about the dog being sick.
We were unsure whether the ban applied to all electronic communication devices, so we put in a call to Jerry Markling, the always-helpful Chief of the Gaming Control Board's Enforcement Division, for clarification. It turns out that not only are laptops legal now, but they always were! The regulation apparently never applied to computers, since their principal use in the race and sports book was considered to be by race bettors wanting to consult handicapping programs or look up information about horses and dogs that they have stored on their computer. Furthermore, interstate betting on, and the sharing of information about, racing have never been illegal, so there was no need for a ban. Now that the ban's been lifted entirely, the Chief couldn't think of a single communication device that isn't allowed in race and sports books.
We asked about the whole procedure for the lifting of the ban, and here's what he explained. In order for a regulation to be overturned, there must be a request from either the public and/or the industry. If the Gaming Control Board considers the request to have merit, it's put before two or three panels for public comment, comprising the public and/or the industry, where those for and against have a chance to voice their opinions. On the strength of this feedback, the GCB votes on whether or not to repeal the regulation; if they vote yes, then the matter goes before the Gaming Commission, which has the final say.
In the case of Regulation 22.135, the whole process took three-four months from beginning to end and, while the GCB actually wanted to keep the ban, citing the ongoing issue of illegal bookmaking, those who supported its repeal won out, arguing that it was outdated and unenforceable.
The commission asked the GCB's monitors to report back in 12 months on any problems; in the meantime, regulators still have the ability to take action anytime against sports books that are allowing obvious communication with illegal bookies, so you can still expect your cell-phone use to be monitored.
UPDATE: 11-06-2008
After some feedback from readers querying the veracity of the information regarding laptops in today's answer, we put a call in to Jay Kornegay, the highly esteemed race & sports book manager at the Las Vegas Hilton. Jay verified that what we had presented was indeed accurate: Laptops were not and are not banned from books, provided that they are being employed to access handicapping programs and other downloaded data that people have stored for their personal use and not connecting to the Internet or in any way transmitting gaming information or making sports wagers. As before, security still has to police the use of any electronic communications device and any suspicious activity will be dealt with. So far, however, the new experiment seems to be going well, Kornegay explained: It's done much to improve relations between both regular customers and tourists and the employees and put an end to incidents like the one he experienced where a bettor yelled "My daughter is sick, I hope your daughter never gets sick," before storming out of the race and sports book.
I think that last little clip about "not being connected to the internet" kinda kills the whole advantage I'd say.
There was a news item in the Las Vegas Sun (8/30/2008) that indicated the ban on cell-phone use in Nevada race & sports books had been repealed. I personally felt this was great news and way overdue for such an antiquated law. My question is related to this, in that I was wondering if I can take a laptop into a sports book? My favorite time in Vegas in during the NCAA Basketball Tournament (March Madness), and I would love to have access to my computer to use as a resource to determine my next bets.
A:
As of August 21, 2008, cell phones will now be allowed in Nevada race and sports books, overturning a ban that's been in place since 1999.
Regulation 22.135, which prohibited the use of electronic communications devices, was put into place by the Nevada Gaming Commission almost a decade ago as a means of both preventing sports book patrons from communicating with illegal bookies and precluding the use of runners by professional sports-betting syndicates. It was an unpopular regulation and often bewildering to the uninitiated; someone in line, for example, might be asked to step outside and miss getting his bet down on a race in order to take a call from his wife about the dog being sick.
We were unsure whether the ban applied to all electronic communication devices, so we put in a call to Jerry Markling, the always-helpful Chief of the Gaming Control Board's Enforcement Division, for clarification. It turns out that not only are laptops legal now, but they always were! The regulation apparently never applied to computers, since their principal use in the race and sports book was considered to be by race bettors wanting to consult handicapping programs or look up information about horses and dogs that they have stored on their computer. Furthermore, interstate betting on, and the sharing of information about, racing have never been illegal, so there was no need for a ban. Now that the ban's been lifted entirely, the Chief couldn't think of a single communication device that isn't allowed in race and sports books.
We asked about the whole procedure for the lifting of the ban, and here's what he explained. In order for a regulation to be overturned, there must be a request from either the public and/or the industry. If the Gaming Control Board considers the request to have merit, it's put before two or three panels for public comment, comprising the public and/or the industry, where those for and against have a chance to voice their opinions. On the strength of this feedback, the GCB votes on whether or not to repeal the regulation; if they vote yes, then the matter goes before the Gaming Commission, which has the final say.
In the case of Regulation 22.135, the whole process took three-four months from beginning to end and, while the GCB actually wanted to keep the ban, citing the ongoing issue of illegal bookmaking, those who supported its repeal won out, arguing that it was outdated and unenforceable.
The commission asked the GCB's monitors to report back in 12 months on any problems; in the meantime, regulators still have the ability to take action anytime against sports books that are allowing obvious communication with illegal bookies, so you can still expect your cell-phone use to be monitored.
UPDATE: 11-06-2008
After some feedback from readers querying the veracity of the information regarding laptops in today's answer, we put a call in to Jay Kornegay, the highly esteemed race & sports book manager at the Las Vegas Hilton. Jay verified that what we had presented was indeed accurate: Laptops were not and are not banned from books, provided that they are being employed to access handicapping programs and other downloaded data that people have stored for their personal use and not connecting to the Internet or in any way transmitting gaming information or making sports wagers. As before, security still has to police the use of any electronic communications device and any suspicious activity will be dealt with. So far, however, the new experiment seems to be going well, Kornegay explained: It's done much to improve relations between both regular customers and tourists and the employees and put an end to incidents like the one he experienced where a bettor yelled "My daughter is sick, I hope your daughter never gets sick," before storming out of the race and sports book.
I think that last little clip about "not being connected to the internet" kinda kills the whole advantage I'd say.
