"the new rules were designed to put the state in a position to move quickly to become the center of a lucrative new part of the gambling industry should Congress pass one of several laws overturning the ban on Internet wagering, making the state the de-facto national licensing body." In the meantime, poker sites with Nevada licenses, which could be operating by the end of next year, will be limited to players in Nevada. Licensees will have to satisfy regulators that they have a reliable system for excluding out-of-state customers. The
Journal says it's not clear the Nevada market is big enough on its own to attract much interest:
Mr. Bronson's company, U.S. Digital Gaming, estimates a network of online-poker sites would need at least 70,000 active users to be viable and would likely be able to get to that size within 1½ years, producing about $180 million in revenue. Getting there isn't a sure bet. Before a federal government crackdown on allegedly illicit poker websites this spring, the state had around 25,000 online-poker players, according to PokerScout.com, a website that tracks online-poker play.
This excerpt from a Reno Paper hints a much larger move is at play.
Nevada passes online gambling bill 
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