Online Poker Website Ultimate Gaming Bows Out Of Nevada Due To US State Law

First ever legalized online poker website In Nevada bids the state farewell, poor gambling regulations to blame.

Ultimate Gaming, Nevada's first online poker site will soon cease its operations there. The company’s exit is triggered by steady losses since it opened up in Nevada a year ago. Put aside Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey are the only other US states to make internet gaming legal.

The company, partly-owned by Las Vegas–based enterprise, Station Casinos, leaves behind a few competitors. South Point Casino’s Real Gaming and Caesars Entertainment’s World Series of Poker are currently the two internet poker services running in Nevada.

Tom Breitling, Ultimate Gaming’s chairman, admits that benefits were low because of the way in which US gambling laws were made up in the state of Nevada. Online players can only tackle online if they are physically in the same state. This is a definite deterrent to playing poker over the internet and to attract lots of potential poker players.

The government will have to review its regulations to allow players to interact across state borders which would allow online poker sites in the USA to increase earnings. Currently this is not the case and states like Nevada stand to lose much more, say in revenues taxes, if the laws are not modified.