.svg)
After 120 days of debate and votes on thousands of bills, the 83rd session of the Nevada legislature adjourned on June 2 but not before lawmakers authorized state officials to confiscate illegal gambling profits, particularly from those out-of-state operators, among a series of other gaming reforms.
Lawmakers also approved requests from the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) to restructure the approval process for new casino games, increase fine thresholds for the first time in nearly 50 years, and maintain regulators’ jurisdiction to investigate and hold disciplinary hearings after a former licensee exits the industry.
Nevada gaming regulators were initially neutral on Senate Bill 256, which was not introduced to the control board, that allows the agency to seize assets from illegal operators. The bill was supported by the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) and Nevada Resort Association (NRA), among others.
But the NGCB authored two gaming reform bills that were introduced and sponsored on its behalf by the Assembly or Senate Judiciary committees. The Nevada legislature meets every other year, in odd-numbered years, for four months, giving gaming regulators a short window to get the statutory fixes they need to oversee the state’s largest industry.
In the end, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo signed at least five bills directly concerning the regulation of gaming.
The bigger picture
Nevada lawmakers typically approve one or more gaming reform bills when they hold their biennial legislative session, but 2025’s reforms also follow a broader trend of regulatory reforms in the largest commercial gaming market in the U.S.
Nevada has been working on eliminating outdated regulations while updating other rules ever since Lombardo issued an executive order shortly after taking office in January 2023.
That order froze any new regulations and directed all executive branch agencies, including the NGCB and Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC), to review their regulations.
Lombardo eventually lifted the regulation freeze in July 2023, with the NGC eliminating 16 regulations. Since then, the NCGB and NGC have approved dozens of updates to Nevada’s gaming regulations.
Among their most significant changes has been the expansion of the use of patron wagering accounts. Previously, funds deposited into wagering accounts could only be used for gaming purposes. But now, casino patrons can use their wagering accounts to pay for restaurants, hotel rooms and other amenities.
NGCB chair Kirk Hendrick supported the change, saying that a lot fewer people are “carrying cash and coins in their pockets today.”
Other revisions since Lombardo appointed Hendrick as chair of the NGCB two-and-a-half years ago include an amendment to Regulation 22.060 (3) that requires immediate reporting of sports bets accepted after the outcome of an event, with licensees having 45 days to provide a supplemental report with all the details.
Amendments to regulations governing the cybersecurity reporting process and surrendering a gaming license or the temporary closing of a casino or other licensed establishment also have been approved.
Hendrick, who steps down as NGCB chair on June 20, said the board’s intention over the last two years was to reduce the regulatory burden on the state’s gaming industry.
Why should you care?
Although Nevada is the oldest and largest U.S. gaming market, regulations are continually evolving in response to new technologies, games and game devices, safety concerns in gambling, and new forms of legal gaming, as well as illegal, offshore websites.
These changes impact both operators and suppliers, as regulators also seek to modify their regulations to keep up with changes in other gaming states or implement changes in Nevada proposed by the industry.
The gaming bills approved by Nevada lawmakers in 2025 include:
- Assembly Bill 58: Effective on July 1, the legislation allows for new slot machines and other casino games and devices to be approved administratively by the chair of the NGCB, without further action by the NGC. The bill revises a long-standing provision that all new games and gaming devices must be approved by both the NGCB and then via a formal vote of the NGC. Nevada regulators believe this is an important change that could put new devices on casino floors as fast as 50 to 60 days from submission for approval.
- Senate Bill 46: The bill, which is effective July 1, allows the NGCB to maintain the jurisdiction to investigate and hold disciplinary hearings after a formerly licensed individual exits the gaming industry for a certain period of time. The bill also includes provisions to establish parameters for the voluntary surrender of those license or registration approvals. Nevada gaming regulators will need to draft and approve new regulations to implement the change. A further section of SB 46 proposes to raise the current fine threshold for violations of gaming regulations in Nevada to $500,000 for a violation in an initial complaint and no more than $1m for each violation in a subsequent complaint. This is the first time in nearly 50 years that Nevada has raised fine thresholds.
- Senate Bill 256: The bill, which is effective October 1, requires any operators found to have operated illegally in Nevada to disgorge all earnings, and allows state courts to impose stiffer fines beyond the current $50,000 fine illegal operators currently face for violating the state’s gaming laws. The passage of SB 256 comes at a time when state gaming regulators across the country are dealing with various forms of illegal gambling from online sweepstakes sites to offshore sites offering sports-betting and casino games. The Michigan Gaming Control Board has been by far the most aggressive in going after sweepstakes and illegal gambling sites, issuing more than 86 cease-and-desist letters since August 2024, while governors in Montana and Connecticut have signed bills this year intending to prohibit sweepstakes casino gaming in their states.
Nevada regulators expect to hold workshops soon to consider new administrative regulations that need to be adopted following the passage of Senate Bill 256, Senate Bill 46 and Assembly Bill 58.
Other gaming-related bills signed by Governor Lombardo include:
- Senate Bill 459: The bill, which became effective on May 31, removes the $500 minimum wager for slot machines in a private gaming salon located within a Nevada casino-resort. The minimum amount now will be at the casino operator’s discretion and subject to NGCB approval. The bill also allows table games in private gaming salons, which are upscale areas designated for high-stakes gamblers.
- Senate Bill 203: The bill, which became effective on May 22, revises the state’s pari-mutuel wagering system, providing legal immunity to the NGC and related entities for actions taken in good faith. SB 203 allows tracks that broadcast horseracing or other pari-mutuel wagering to enter into agreements with race and sportsbook operators, streamlining the process for wagering operations.
What happens next?
As the gaming bills signed into law by Lombardo take effect, NGCB staff will either have to amend the state’s regulations in order to align with the new statutory language, or draft new regulations to implement the new laws.
Hendrick, the outgoing NGCB chair, also believes the control board will make additional efforts to amend or remove outdated gaming regulations this year.
Hendrick will be replaced as chair by Mike Dreitzer, former CEO of Gaming Arts, a privately held Las Vegas-based gaming equipment suppliers that was acquired by German gaming supplier Merkur.
