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Editor's Note: This story was updated on May 30 at 2:15 p.m. EST with comment from Daron Dorsey, executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) has issued a series of guidelines designed to expedite the evaluation of new gaming technology by agency staff.
In a memo to licensees dated May 28, Jim Barbee, chief of the NGCB’s technology division, said the board's new guidelines on gaming approvals due to take effect on July 1 were designed to facilitate the efficient introduction, development and ongoing maintenance of gaming technology in the state.
“These guidelines do not modify or amend any regulation adopted by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC),” Barbee wrote in the eight-page memo. “Instead, these guidelines incorporate the processes the board intends to follow within the existing parameters of the NGC regulations.”
In terms of approving new slot machine games, the new guidelines state that when a field test or physical inspection is not required, the evaluation of the device and its placement on the next scheduled NGCB and NGC meetings for approval will occur within 45 calendar days of receiving the application.
When a field test or physical inspection is required by the NGCB technology division, the manufacturer will be notified within five days of receiving an application. Upon notification, the application is placed in “abeyance status” until the new gaming device is delivered for inspection, the memo states.
The testing or inspection will occur within 90 days of the control board receiving an application.
Other new guidelines include changes to the timeline for the approval of new associated equipment, modified gaming devices and associated equipment, and field tests of gaming devices and associated equipment.
When asked why issue new guidelines now, Barbee told Vixio GamblingCompliance the technology division continually assesses existing processes for efficiency with the intent of providing a regulatory environment that is favorable to the rollout of gaming technology in Nevada.
“The new approval guidelines were developed with feedback from the gaming industry to further streamline the technology approval process and provide predictable timelines the industry can reference,” Barbee said in an email.
Barbee said the effect of the new guidelines on technology currently under review or that is submitted prior to July 1, will be an overall improvement in the product evaluation timeframe as the technology division begins to implement the new guidelines prior to the official effective date.
When it comes to the approval of new associated equipment, from July 1, the control board will evaluate and render a decision on a request within 20 days of receiving a completed application, subject to neither a field test nor physical inspection being required.
The board's approval deadline will be 60 days when a field test or physical inspection is required.
Associated equipment is defined in Nevada gaming regulations as any “equipment or mechanical, electromechanical or electronic contrivance, component or machine used remotely or directly in connection with gaming or mobile gaming, any game, race book or sports pool that would not otherwise be classified as a gaming device”.
For approval of modified gaming devices or associated equipment, the NGCB will act on an application within five days or ten days, respectively, when a field test or physical inspection is not required. When a test or inspection is required, the approval deadline is 60 days.
In terms of field tests of devices and associated equipment, the NGCB technology division will notify manufacturers within five days if a test will be allowed or required. The notification will also outline the requirements and specifications of the test or inspection.
Manufacturers must commence the field trial within 90 calendar days of receiving control board authorization, and the evaluation will be for 30 calendar days, unless otherwise ordered by the NGCB chair or technology division.
Additionally, manufacturers and suppliers may submit a request to the NGCB chair for a meeting when a licensee concludes that a field test or inspection is unnecessary or duplicative based on a certification provided by an independent test laboratory along with the application.
Licensees can also ask for a meeting with the control board chair if they believe that a finding of deficiency by the technology division is not supported by good cause.
As for the published new guidelines, Daron Dorsey, executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), said AGEM welcomes any efforts to improve policies and procedures surrounding gaming technology in Nevada.
“These new guidelines are a good first step, especially since they use existing tools and can be implemented within the existing state statutory and regulatory scheme,” Dorsey told Vixio on Thursday (May 30).
“Seeing what kind of impact they may have will take some time, but we know there is more work that can be done to reestablish Nevada as a priority jurisdiction for approval and deployment of gaming technology, especially new innovations, concepts, or products developed by existing Nevada licensees.”
Tuesday's memo is the latest reform initiative announced by the NGCB since the appointment of Kirk Hendrick as board chairman by Republican Governor Joe Lombardo in January 2023. Last year, the board also adopted two other initiatives regarding field test procedures and categories of approvals for different gaming technologies.
