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With Nevada gamblers already using wagering accounts to fund sports betting or casino play, regulators are considering lifting a long-standing prohibition on using those same accounts to pay for restaurants, hotel rooms or other non-gaming amenities.
The three-member Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has expressed support for proposed amendments to Regulation 5.225 that would expand the use of wagering accounts beyond the casino floor.
But at a regulatory workshop it hosted last week, the NGCB unanimously approved sending the draft amendments back to staff for clarification before they resume the discussion and potentially vote on the issue at a future board meeting.
Omer Sattar, CEO of Las Vegas-based Sightline Payments, said the debate over the use of wagering accounts for non-gaming activities is “not new”.
Funds in a wagering account are “just a digital representation of the money which the person has given to the casino”, Sattar told Vixio GamblingCompliance in an interview, and the patron should be permitted to use their money for what they wish.
“But let's take it one step at a time,” Sattar said. “I think it is a very logical next step extending … the utility of a wagering account. We think it is going to be very important to driving cashless.”
John Michela, senior deputy attorney general with the Nevada attorney general’s office, confirmed during the August 21 workshop that an industry request had been made to allow wagering accounts to fund all debit purchases in the same way a bank debit card funds purchases. He did not identify the licensee.
Michela told the control board that he did not write the draft amendments broadly and instead confined the permitted account-based payment activities to transactions taking place on the premises of a licensed casino or an affiliate. If the NGCB wishes to allow purchases off-site, Michela suggested more research be conducted on the issue.
If the current amendments are approved, casino patrons could also use their wagering accounts to purchase goods and services offered by a casino or its affiliate online.
NGCB member Brittnie Watkins asked about any unintended consequences for allowing wagering accounts to be used for non-gaming purchases, but Michela assured the control board he did not see any risks with expanding the use of wagering accounts.
Historically, Nevada wagering accounts were confined to race and sportsbooks and could be used for horseracing-related services and merchandise, Michela said.
The proposed change would apply only to non-restricted gaming licensees, primarily land-based casinos, because restricted licensees in Nevada cannot offer wagering accounts. A restricted gaming license permits the operation of a maximum of 15 slot machines in a location where their operation is incidental to the primary purpose of the business.
NGCB chair Kirk Hendrick asked Jim Barbee, chief of the regulator's technology division, whether the proposed change would drive innovation in Nevada’s gaming industry.
“I would like to say it is the next step,” Barbee said.
Barbee stressed that patrons can fund wagering accounts using a prepaid card, which operates similar to a debit card and can be used where a Discover or Visa card is accepted. Debit cards can also be used to purchase chips at a table game or slot machines.
“That somewhat mitigates the need for a wagering account,” Barbee added. “This is something we have the regulatory structure to do. We can ensure that the technology is sound and secure.”
Barbee told the control board that approving the amendments was just step one and the technology division had no problem allowing wagering accounts to also be used for purchases away from a casino property.
“We know the world is going to everyone carrying their phones and not carrying a bunch of credit cards around and from a regulatory side, we are not trying to be an impediment to speeding up that process,” Hendrick said. “The technology is evolving so fast; we want to make sure we are evolving with it.”
Sattar said Sightline supports the proposal and believes it will evolve into allowing wagering account to be used anywhere, on- or off-property.
“That is what is going to happen,” Sattar told Vixio.
He noted how cashless gaming had already been fully adopted by Resort World Las Vegas, as well as the various casinos operated by Station Casinos and Boyd Gaming.
Sattar said Sightline participates in the cashless ecosystem with IGT at Station Casinos and administers cashless for Boyd and Resorts World.
“We can see the operators saying … okay let’s see how we can make this easier and cleaner for the consumer and extend it for everything that is on the property and let’s take the next step … and extend it outside the property.”
Sattar took it one-step further by noting that Boyd also has a 5 percent stake in FanDuel, so there could plausibly be movement of money between a Boyd wagering account and FanDuel.
“This is really [where] they are going,” Sattar said. “They are saying you can now take that wagering account and move money very easily into an affiliated partner whether that is digital or brick-and-mortar.”
