It was a busy year for the Nevada Legislature when it came to bills intended to improve the gaming and tourism industry. The changes included opening up gaming salons to athletes and celebrities, protecting Strip patrons from repeated lawbreakers, and restricting those who operate illegal gambling in the state.
Senate Bill 459 led to changes in two-decades-old regulations for salons as a way to attract more visitors that casinos are losing to other states. Backed by the Nevada Resort Association, the new regulations eliminated the $500-minimum wager to play slots. Instead, casinos can set minimum wagers approved by the Gaming Control Board. The salons are also no longer required to include table games and they can be converted temporarily to public gaming spaces.
Previously, the financial criterion for admission to a gaming salon included an up-front deposit of at least $300,000, (changed in 2008 and down from $500,000 in 2001) a $300,000 line of credit, or a combination of the two totaling at least $300,000. The industry wanted that price of entry reduced or eliminated, but regulators set it at $20,000. The Nevada Gaming Control Board chair can now approve lower amounts. The elimination of higher front-money requirements encourages people who value their privacy and security, such as athletes and celebrities, thus creating the ability to generate significant revenue for the state and free advertising for properties and Las Vegas, proponents said.
Nevada State Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro said the new regulations cater to a changing landscape of high rollers and celebrities to take their entourages into a private setting without the stringent requirements.
“This bill and a looser regulatory framework allow for more creativity and flexibility, so that the property has guests as part of a group who maybe don’t want table games, but slot machines instead. Not everybody is going to make a $500 minimum bet,” Cannizzaro said. “This allows the industry to engage the customer and allow folks to come and have a great time and still allow for a lot of regulation and approvals. It removes antiquated and stringent requirements.”
Earlier this month, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo signed a crime package into law whose intent is to reinstate a controversial court program that barred offenders of some crimes from the Las Vegas Strip. It also stiffens penalties for smash-and-grab robberies, DUIs, and assault and battery against hospitality workers. The so-called Safe Streets and Neighborhoods Act paves the way for the return of the Resort Corridor Court, which would penalize petty theft, assault, drug offenses, and loitering that take place on the Strip. The court could ban people from the corridor for a year.
The goal pushed by the Nevada Resort Association and hospitality workers’ union is that the law will improve safety and protect visitors and Las Vegas’ reputation. It has come under fire from the ACLU of Nevada for targeting the homeless. Nevada judges who instituted the court two years ago later voted to disband it.
Melanie Scheibel, chair of the Nevada Senate Judiciary Committee, said lawmakers turned their attention to the tourism corridor, because of their desire for visitors to be safe when they come on vacation or to a convention. There was also a focus on the tens of thousands of Strip employees.
“We have a unique tourism corridor in Las Vegas, where people come from all over the world to enjoy the amenities, and we don’t want them to feel like they can’t feel safe here,” Scheibel said.
Scheibel said the law is meant to address repeat offenders, because casinos face problems with individuals who are disruptive and aren’t on property to work or participate in gaming and entertainment. Instead, they’re there to cause a nuisance and can sometimes be violent.
“They’re not enhancing the safety of the community, but hindering it,” Scheibel said. “They’re not just preventing people from walking in the door, but fully contributing to a less-safe environment. We wanted to find a way to stop a revolving door of picking up people on trespassing charges, releasing them, and they come right back to these properties.”
Scheibel said they looked at a way to not only intervene, but also to provide services to these people. It helps if the same judge is assigned to hear the case against an individual.
“We couldn’t wait another two years to address the issues in the tourism corridor,” Scheibel said of taking up the matter in the fall special session.
The special session also changed a previously passed bill in the general session that would have had a big impact on casinos and their payments to wholesalers who do millions of dollars in business with the operators. The initial piece of legislation allowed wholesalers to do an electronic transfer of funds when delivering goods. That seemed unfair, since there are other ways for wholesalers to seek remedies if not paid, Scheibel said. It unfairly gave the power of the purse strings to the wholesaler.
“Gaming properties are already subject to strict regulations and there are already processes to ensure wholesalers are paid,” Scheibel said.
Virginia Valentine, president and CEO of the Nevada Resort Association, said a company reaching into another party’s pocket and take out a withdrawal without their consent is unworkable. It was also going to create compliance issues for gaming operators.
Scheibel outlined Senate Bill 256: If a company or person is involved in and profits from illegal gaming practices, the operator can not only be fined and prosecuted, but they have to return the profits they made. The bill targets the prediction market companies that Nevada argues are operating illegally and have been locked in a legal battle in federal court. Those companies argue they are legal based on federal regulation with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
“They can’t become unjustly enriched from illegal gaming practices,” Schiebel said. “They have to return the money. When I say return the money, there’s a mechanism for it to go into the state’s general fund.”
Scheibel called it “more tools in the toolbelt” to have a mechanism in place to deal with illegal gambling and make it a deterrent in the state.
“I think Nevada is the example,” Scheibel said. “We set the example for the rest of the country and the rest of the world. We have the best regulations in the world.”
Senate Bill 46 prevents license holders from turning in their gaming license to avoid punishment, Scheibel said. The Gaming Control Board and Gaming Commission can still hold the licensee accountable for any egregious behavior and violations of their licenses.
“It says you can’t drop your license or move the ownership to keep from being held responsible for violating regulations,” Scheibel said.