Imagine putting on a pair of special glasses and entering a virtual world where you can compete with others in games of chance. Virtual gambling (e-gambling) is changing the way people gamble.

Virtual gamblers sit at computers, with or without special glasses, in their homes or potentially could play in any clean, smoke-free establishments where like-minded individuals come together to enjoy this pastime on networked computers. No gaming license required.

In the virtual world, individuals play their favorite games anywhere and anytime. They can have complete anonymity in a virtual environment where security is well established and one can concentrate on their game.

Potentially, “casinos” in Mesquite would become server farms, with an entirely new group of employees. Essentially Mesquite would become a computer hosting community. Highly trained programmers, network administrators, communications experts, security specialists, and a host of technical repair specialists trained in skills taught at the local community college.

Residents, and visitors, could gamble from their homes, or go to well-appointed centers where they could play virtual games on large 3-dimensional screens while others are sitting in cockpits of formula I race cars, or P-51 fighters engaging in virtual races and dog-fights for points and victory revenue.

Bonuses, tournaments, promotions and loyalty clubs would continue to honor the dedicated.

Currently, it's the Europeans who dominate this virtual gaming environment.

Malta and the United Kingdom(UK) have laws permitting and regulating e-gambling. Gibraltar hosts a number of e-gambling companies who deliver their services to customers within or outside the European Union (EU).

Admittedly, federal statutes covering on-line gambling are confusing and contradictory. However, the Nevada Gaming Commission has approved regulations to make Nevada the first state to provide online gambling within its borders.

Washington, D.C. is the first U.S. jurisdiction to allow online gambling within its geographic limits.

Under the Nevada law, Mesquite entrepreneurs could launch gambling websites for players within the state’s borders by the end of this year. Six companies have already filed an application for a Nevada license.

While the main operator of the website must be a casino company, other companies are allowed to provide software or other services to the websites – hence an entirely new high-tech business opportunity for the community.

Nevada regulations require that bets received by the website must be placed within Nevada which means that visitors would still come to Mesquite for gaming. However, in order to compete with the EU, the federal law will likely change to allow acceptance of bets from outside the state.

On-line gambling will create high quality, world wide interest from major firms and the political and gaming leaders must get serious about the consequences.

Las Vegas will always be Las Vegas, but small communities, such as Mesquite, need to rethink their gaming environment.