A member of the Nevada Gaming Control Board is considering asking the state's attorney general to look into the legality of radio advertisements for online casinos.
Last week Scott Scherer, a regulator on the gaming board, announced that the ads could be seen as trying to convince Nevada residents to gamble on the Internet.
Although last year Nevada approved a bill that would make Internet gambling legal within its borders, the state's lawmakers have yet to establish regulations governing the activity. In addition, the state's gambling regulators have expressed concern about the legality of the law, considering the federal law relating to online gambling has varying interpretations.
A representative from the attorney general's office said it is not looking into the radio ads, but would if it were asked to.
"There's nothing ongoing at the present time, however should the Control Board ask us to look into this area, we certainly would do that," said Toni Cowan, senior deputy attorney general of the Division of Gaming. "I think what Scott said was that he was considering asking us to look into it."
Cowan noted that other jurisdictions, including Minnesota and New Jersey, have prosecuted people in connection with Internet gambling. She said the content of the radio advertisements could be a free speech concern.
"That's certainly one of the issues that would be brought up," she said.
Scherer said he heard the ads for a sports betting Web site on KOH, an AM talk radio station in Reno, the Las Vegas Sun reported. The Las Vegas Review-Journal quotes Control Board Chairman Dennis Neilander as saying that he and the other regulators have not decided how they will
deal with commercials for offshore gambling.
"Legally, it's tough to get jurisdiction over these operators," he said.
Cowan echoed his sentiment.
"Getting jurisdiction over these people who operate who knows where is sometimes another issue," she said.