While taking a legal stand against sports betting prediction markets from operating in the state without a license, the chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board said they’re looking at prediction-style products as he highlighted the importance of innovation in the state to stay ahead of the competition.
Approaching his one-year anniversary as chair of the Board, Mike Dreitzer used appearances last week at the Economic Club of Las Vegas and at the Palms to talk to gaming executives about helping the industry thrive by introducing the latest and greatest technology that propels gaming forward. He said the Board is continuing its mission under Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo to streamline regulations and regulatory processes.
Dreitzer mentioned that at ICE Barcelona earlier this year, he saw a five-reel spinning slot machine driven by prediction outcomes.
“We are currently looking at a prediction-style product,” Dreitzer said without specifying the product or manufacturer under consideration. “We’re okay with that innovation, as long as you do it in accordance with laws and regulations. It can come from anywhere and it’s certainly not for the Nevada Gaming Control Board to judge.”
Nevada and other states are locked into a battle with sports betting prediction market operators over offering sports wagering under the auspices of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, rather than the state regulatory bodies. Dreitzer warned those operators could ultimately set up casinos unregulated by states.
Dreitzer called it important to create an environment of transparency, allow for whatever innovation people want to bring, and have clear regulations, so companies know what it takes to bring a product to the state safely and in a timely manner.
“That’s critical and we were missing that,” Dreitzer said. “Manufacturers are saying, ‘I have this product, but I can’t go to Nevada. It could take a year from all the red tape.” With Governor Lombardo’s leadership, I’ve picked up that mantle to say we’re going to streamline it.”
The concern is that Nevada is falling behind other states in bringing technology to the marketplace, more important than ever as the gaming industry has faced challenges over the past year, Dreitzer said
“Frankly, Nevada has fallen behind on innovation and technology. We’ve been late to the party with respect to getting newer products approved through the test lab in ways that are apparent and consistent,” Dreitzer said. “We have new leadership in the lab with Chief Jeremy Eberwein, and he has come in conjunction with a whole new set of regulations, which were overdue, and created an environment of the latest and greatest of gaming technology from licensees and others who want to bring gaming technology to our close to 3,000 licensees.”
It will be up to licensees what innovation they want in a free market, Dreitzer said. It’s not up to him which innovation gets used, but instead to create an environment that allows it to come through.
“We’re seeing substantive things on the innovation side. We’re for innovation. We’re not an old-school regulator putting our heads in the sand. I can show you tangible examples of interesting technology that will go into the marketplace, where players will decide if they like it. It’s our job to create the environment to get there.”
Dreitzer said they have found a way to streamline that process without sacrificing safety and fairness every time people risk their money.
“We have found ways to make it more efficient, and we’re seeing results. We’re seeing products that were sitting in white-paper land where there’s discussion about it, but no decision. It’s important for a thriving economy, particularly with the challenges well known in Las Vegas. From a regulation standpoint, we have to support it and regulate at the speed of business. I firmly believe licensees are accountable to regulators, but regulators are also accountable to licensees and the communities we serve.”
Regulation is detailed, complex, and nuanced and takes a lot of work to get it right and make constant improvements, Dreitzer said. They found 30-year-old regulations that no longer made sense.
“In some cases, we were asking for information from licensees that we don’t use,” Dreitzer said. “We had to find a way to streamline and modernize our regulations.”
Despite that streamlining, Dreitzer pointed out that regulation is one of the important cornerstones to a healthy gaming environment and the backbone of a successful gaming industry in Nevada, the country, and the world.
“Nevada is the gold standard and many other jurisdictions around the world know this,” Dreitzer said. “These aren’t over-regulations or what’s been termed ‘regulatory capture.’ These are necessary. We can’t be 100% without them, because if that happens, consumers get taken advantage of.
“I go to bed every night knowing that anybody who takes money to one of our licensees will get a fair deal,” Dreitzer said. “They may win or lose. That’s math, but they’ll get a fair roll. It’s our job to keep that environment so when licensees are coming up with all of these great ideas and reinventing themselves we need to continue to provide a flexible and transparent and understandable regulatory structure to allow them to do these things.”
Dreitzer said he’s proud to represent an agency that was launched 70 years ago and has more than 400 employees today.
“One of the best parts of my day and career is I get to work with these great folks who believe deeply in this complex mission and do a hell of a job in protecting the state when it comes to making sure gaming is fair,” Dreitzer said. “In most cases, it goes unsung and that’s good. We do it well and seamlessly because we’ve been doing it for a long time.”
