No more need to fret about all that wasted time waiting in line for the buffet at your favorite casino. Help is on the way to make it possible to gamble any time.

Gov. Kenny Guinn signed legislation last month authorizing gamblers in Nevada to play slot machines, video poker, blackjack and other games on hand-held wireless devices from public spaces in casinos.

The spaces include restaurants, bars, convention rooms and swimming pools. Hotel rooms are off-limits, to make sure that minors do not get their hands on the devices, which resemble personal digital assistants or tablet personal computers.

The devices, which officials say are not likely to be in use until early next year, represent an important development in the rapidly growing world of gambling, said William Bible, the president of the Nevada Resort Association, which represents the major casino companies.

The current worldwide market for gambling on mobile devices is about $2 billion and is expected to reach $19 billion by 2009, according to Juniper Research, a consulting firm.

At the Paris Las Vegas hotel and casino, close to a 50-story replica of the Eiffel Tower, the idea had instant appeal. L. Dave Ross, a middle-aged tourist from Tampa, said: "I have no moral objection to the device."

After all, Ross said, "What do you come to Vegas for, except to gamble?"

Traditionally, most casino operators regarded any technology that would allow people to gamble outside their "bricks-and-mortars casinos as a real threat," Bible said.

But now, with the spreading popularity of Internet gambling, he said, "some companies see the new technology as a real opportunity for expansion."

Internet gambling is illegal in the United States, under a 1961 anti-racketeering law. But casino companies in Britain, the Caribbean and Gibraltar have gotten around the law by setting up their operations offshore.