How can Nevada block players at their online gambling site?

April 30, 2013 saw the poker world witness the launch of the first legal online poker room in US, Ultimate Poker. However, it came with a limit. The site was only legal for players living in the Nevada boundaries. With more sites set to come under similar schemes in other states, like New Jersey and Delaware, online gambling might be all set for an explosion in the country.

Now, the question, which is in everyone’s mind, is that “How is everything going to be limited on the geographical basis?” Internet is borderless. Even though some applications try to geo-block IPs, but for anyone, who is aware of the concept of VPN (virtual private network), such blocks would barely create an obstacle.

Under the new regulation in Nevada, players using state’s poker rooms must be present there. However, there is no necessity to live there or have any financial asset in that region. They only require to prove that they are in the geographic boundaries of the state.

Jim Barbee, Technology Division Chief of State Gaming Control Board, said, “People use IP Geo-location for the task, but we cannot have this as a sole qualifier for identification. I would not allow companies to be dependent on IP alone. Even a 9-year-old would find a way to spoof it.”

Barbie continued saying that, “It is going to involve several data points, IP addresses, street address and Registration Information. We would involve almost everything before confirming that the person is based in Nevada or somewhere else and should be allowed to play or not at our sites.”

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