Nevada is confident to win the race to become the first U.S. state to offer legal intrastate online poker, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman, Mark Lipparelli, has told iGaming Business in a new interview.

The chairman confirmed that online operators with licenses and technical systems approved by the state could be up and running for real-money games before the end of 2012.

Testing and evaluation of license holders' software platforms is set to take place this spring and summer, and the first approvals could be handed out already by fall, Lipparelli said.

"The process from here will see license applicants appearing on our public agenda in May/June. For the successful license applicants, the last step in turning the systems will be a technical evaluation, and although we are not certain how long this process will take, it's plausible, even likely, that you'll see the first set of systems approved for initial deployment by the fall."

The Gaming Contorl Chairman further stated that licensee who are "thoughtful about their approach and had their systems reviews by test labs in the past" would potentially be in operation "by late fall and certainly by late winter or the early part of 2013.

More than a dozen operators have applied for a Nevada gaming license, including bwin.party, IGT, Bally Tech and the recent buyer of the Ongame Network, Shuffle Master.

Nevada will be in close contention with New Jersey to become the first state to offer legal online poker, following the approval of a similar system in the Garden State earlier this month.