Ban on cell phones in sports books lifted
By BRENDAN RILEY Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 08/21/2008 03:55:15 PM PDT
CARSON CITY, Nev.—A decade-old ban on use of cell phones and other electronic devices inside Nevada sports books was lifted for one year on Thursday by the state Gaming Commission.
Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard said in supporting the move that regulators realized there's a lot of "purely innocent use of cell phones in casinos" and that casino patrons using the phones often don't understand why they're told to stop.
But Bernhard said cell phone use in the sports books will be monitored during the one-year suspension to ensure people with "less than pure motives" aren't using them for illegal activity such as messenger betting, in which a person is paid to place bets for others.
Nevada books allow phone accounts so that gamblers can call in bets. Also, the state allows the use of wireless mobile gambling devices within casinos. But it's illegal for someone on the phone in a legal book to make bets for a person on the other end of the call—typically in another state.
If messenger betting or other problems are reported, Bernhard said the commission's suspension of the cell phone ban could be quickly canceled.
Tony Cabot, representing the Nevada Pari-mutuel Association, asked for suspension, saying that sports book staffers are finding it "difficult if not impossible" to enforce the ban since there are so many types of cellular devices now.
Cabot also said the use of messenger betting by illegal bookies trying to "lay off"
or balance their bets by placing wagers in Nevada's legal books has decreased significantly because they can accomplish the same thing through Internet sports books.
Also, there's the problem of annoying people who happen to be in a sports book when they place or take a cell phone call to or from a family member or friend, Cabot said.
Sports books have posted signs notifying people about the ban on cell phone use, but critics of the prohibition say many customers still don't understand why they're being told to end the call.
Nevada allows betting in legal books on most sports and regulators want to maintain that activity—which means not giving federal authorities a reason to object. The federal government has cracked down on offshore sports books in recent years.
By BRENDAN RILEY Associated Press Writer
Article Launched: 08/21/2008 03:55:15 PM PDT
CARSON CITY, Nev.—A decade-old ban on use of cell phones and other electronic devices inside Nevada sports books was lifted for one year on Thursday by the state Gaming Commission.
Commission Chairman Pete Bernhard said in supporting the move that regulators realized there's a lot of "purely innocent use of cell phones in casinos" and that casino patrons using the phones often don't understand why they're told to stop.
But Bernhard said cell phone use in the sports books will be monitored during the one-year suspension to ensure people with "less than pure motives" aren't using them for illegal activity such as messenger betting, in which a person is paid to place bets for others.
Nevada books allow phone accounts so that gamblers can call in bets. Also, the state allows the use of wireless mobile gambling devices within casinos. But it's illegal for someone on the phone in a legal book to make bets for a person on the other end of the call—typically in another state.
If messenger betting or other problems are reported, Bernhard said the commission's suspension of the cell phone ban could be quickly canceled.
Tony Cabot, representing the Nevada Pari-mutuel Association, asked for suspension, saying that sports book staffers are finding it "difficult if not impossible" to enforce the ban since there are so many types of cellular devices now.
Cabot also said the use of messenger betting by illegal bookies trying to "lay off"
or balance their bets by placing wagers in Nevada's legal books has decreased significantly because they can accomplish the same thing through Internet sports books.
Also, there's the problem of annoying people who happen to be in a sports book when they place or take a cell phone call to or from a family member or friend, Cabot said.
Sports books have posted signs notifying people about the ban on cell phone use, but critics of the prohibition say many customers still don't understand why they're being told to end the call.
Nevada allows betting in legal books on most sports and regulators want to maintain that activity—which means not giving federal authorities a reason to object. The federal government has cracked down on offshore sports books in recent years.
