VEGAS INC archives
Gov. Brian Sandoval said today he would revive the 11-member Gaming Policy Committee to advise regulators, legislators and him on how Nevada can maintain its edge as the leader of gaming regulatory policy at a time when technology is expanding industry boundaries.
Sandoval told the State Bar of Nevada’s Gaming Law Conference that the committee would have discussions that could lead to policy decisions, legislation and regulations overseeing the rapidly changing gaming industry landscape.
“I hope to sketch a new road map for the journey ahead,” Sandoval said. “We will preserve our position as the gold standard in gaming regulation and in the provision of gaming entertainment. We will be second to none on the globe.”
The Gaming Policy Committee was created by the Legislature in 1961, meeting at the call of the governor to discuss gaming policy matters. Sandoval said a subcommittee of the review committee last met in 2007, but that the full committee hasn’t met since Richard Bryan was governor in the 1980s.
The committee is chaired by the governor and includes one member of the state Senate, one member of the state Assembly, one gaming commissioner, one member of the state Gaming Control Board, one member of a Native American tribe in Nevada and five appointees. Of the appointees, two would be non-restricted gaming licensees, one would be a restricted gaming licensee and two would be from the public.
Sandoval said he already has asked Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli and Nevada Gaming Commission Chairman Peter Bernhard to serve and that he would announce the names of other committee members in a few days. The committee is expected to begin meeting early next year.
Sandoval expects one of his public appointees to be an academic expert on the casino industry.
Sandoval said Nevada has had a history of being on the cutting edge of gaming industry innovation since gambling was legalized in the state in 1931. He was chairman of the Gaming Commission when the Legislature took its first step toward regulating online gaming in 2001.
Earlier this year, Sandoval signed into law legislation requiring the commission to draft regulations and technical standards in preparation for the eventual legalization of Internet poker. The commission is expected to conduct a public hearing on those regulations later this month and approve them in December.
Internet gambling is illegal in the United States, but federal lawmakers have begun debating the merits of legalizing it and have conducted committee hearings on enabling legislation.
“Nevada’s success in capitalizing on the emergence of Internet poker will depend on the strength of its leadership as a sophisticated regulator of gaming,” Sandoval said at the gathering at the Gold Coast.
Sandoval said he recognized the need to resurrect the policy committee when he realized how far technology has come in the 10 years since he headed the Gaming Commission and how the pace of change is accelerating.
“We can only imagine what technology will bring in another 10 years and there are policy implications for us in that world of rapid change,” he said.
Sandoval said he expects the committee would have “an academic conversation” and not address issues currently before regulators. It’s an advisory board and its recommendations won’t be binding on the control board or commission.
“We will examine issues ranging from specific technological devices to the world of the Internet to the impact we may someday see on our tax policy an infrastructure from a changed cybereconomy in which gamers will not necessarily need to be on the casino floor,” he said.
The modernization of the industry, he said, could also be a piece of Nevada’s economic development strategy, bringing new technology companies to the state.
Earlier in the conference, Bernhard and Lipparelli participated in a regulatory panel, much of which centered on Internet gambling issues.
Lipparelli said that while much of the focus on legalizing Internet gambling has centered on economic opportunity and potential tax revenue, other potential benefits are emerging. He said because online gaming is account-based, every game and its result can be tracked.
That means computer programs would be able to spot irregular wagering patterns and detect cheating with a cybertrail to track down illegal activity. Bernhard said efforts could be made to prevent collusion on games. Programs also could be written to set betting limits for problem gamblers and help provide data for academics studying compulsive gambling.