This is one of those stories that may not be a big deal — especially for people who don’t bet sports (like me) … but for some reason I see a lot in play here that could prove plausibly significant for the future of gambling, both live and online. You decide whether or not this is a game-changer:

Check out this article from the AP about what will be called “Leroy’s App”.

American Wagering Inc. launches their new Blackberry app supposedly like next week … in time for the NFL and college football seasons. And then in coming months they’ll have the same thing for iPhones, Droids, and other “smart” mobile devices, they say. The Blackberry version has already been approved by the NV Gaming Control Board, while the others will face similar vetting upon release.

The catch: You can bet on sports from anywhere — your home, the grocery store, a bar, middle of the desert, Pahrump whorehouse, etc. — so long as you do so somewhere in the state of Nevada.

The things I find curious about this, both technologically and, um … license-and-regulatorially(?):

• GPS tracking applied to online gambling, creating a virtual gaming wall at the state lines; makes me think of both Kentucky and California.
• Different than Cantor Gaming devices at M Resort, the Venetian, and (coming soon) the Hard Rock, as their mobile sports-betting tech only works on casino property.
• Wonder if Leroy’s app will have in-game betting, like Cantor’s casino product.
• Would love to meet Leroy. He’s got to be an interesting character.
• Wonder what this has to do, if anything, with stripping sports betting from HR 2267.
• GCB approval suggests confidence in ability to block underage bettors online. Live first-deposit at Leroy’s seems to be the key.

Here’s a little more on the forthcoming release as per the tech-biz media at cnet.com.

New article in the Las Vegas Sun, looking at the WSOP and the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s comfort level with online poker sites that do and do not accept American players. No one’s wagging any fingers at the WSOP specifically, but the article does take a closer look at Full Tilt’s and PokerStars’ presence at the Rio (and a little bit UB’s) as well as partnerships these sites have with other casinos.

You get a subtle clue of what the implication might be directly from the article’s URL, as well as quotes from GCB’s chief enforcer of dot-net-dot-com issues:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jul/13/guilt-association/

After the [UIGEA] passed Congress, some sites left the U.S. market, fearing prosecution by federal regulators. Some sites, including PokerStars.com and Full Tilt Poker.com — whose .net logos adorn the clothing of many World Series of Poker players — continue to allow action from Americans, however. Those sites are “purposefully putting that product in the United States in disregard of Department of Justice interpretations of federal law and also Nevada law,” [GCB member Randall] Sayre says.

This closer look stemmed from what would become the rapid rise-and-fall of NAPT-Venetian. The Venetian does confirm in the Sun article, btw, that they have no current or future relationship with PokerStars … you know, despite appearances one might get from PokerStars.net and NAPT logos on 119 felts throughout this summer’s Deep Stack Series.

GCB makes it clear that they don’t like to see its licensees in bed with American friendly online poker sites, but they’re still not being clear on where they draw the lines for what might constitute just messing around. Even the regulators contend they can’t begin to tell people what they can and cannot wear on their bodies.

That, of course, begs the question, then why not just let people wear hats and shirts logo’d up with dot-coms?