Get to Know Gaming: Las Vegas, NV

During the 21^st annual Responsible Gaming Education Week, industry stakeholders convened at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) International Gaming Institute to highlight the industry’s work in responsible gaming and discuss forthcoming responsibility initiatives.

U.S. Representative Dina Titus (NV-1) delivered the keynote address, updating the audience on recent developments in the gaming industry, placing much of her focus on the expansion of legal sports betting since the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in May 2018. With states across the country legalizing sports betting, Titus stressed the importance of looking at the evolution of the gaming industry “from the standpoint of responsibility.”

The American Gaming Association (AGA) announced an update to the Responsibility Code of Conduct, which guides industry efforts to build a more cohesive dialogue on responsible gaming. The update expanded responsibility guidelines to include wagers on sports, as well as new advertising provisions to ensure casino and sports betting marketing is targeted to an age-appropriate demographic with tasteful content and reasonable frequency.

Jennifer Shatley, responsible gaming policies and compliance specialist at Caesars Entertainment, said the advent of widespread legal sports betting “offers an opportunity.” Adding, “there’s not really regulations or frameworks around [sports betting], and this is the time when we really can regulate how to do this in a responsible manner…how to advertise in a responsible manner, how to operate in responsibly. We already know there’s a huge market out there that is betting on sports illegally…so now we have the ability to build something and protect the consumer.”

Connie Jones, director of responsible gaming at the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, spoke about technological innovations in responsible gaming, touching on the potential for cashless gaming to offer effective spending controls. As an example of a technological innovation that allows casino-goers to play responsibly, Jones cited PlayMyWay, a responsible gaming app developed by Scientific Games that allows players to gauge how they are tracking against their self-imposed budget in real time.

The panel’s moderator, Bo Bernhard, executive director of the International Gaming Institute at UNLV, concluded the event by underscoring the importance of the industry continuing its dedication to researching responsible gaming and collaborating to advance the issue.

Additional panelists included Sara Slane, AGA’s senior vice president of public affairs and Robin Bernhard, senior manager, marketing & education at BMM Testlabs.