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Nevada regulators instituted their first foreign gaming approval requirements nearly 50 years ago after New Jersey voters approved casino gaming, but they have since eased those rules considerably as more jurisdictions have legalized gaming.
The latest change was approved on Thursday (February 27) by the Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) as commissioners voted to repeal Regulation 3.060 that served as a grandfather clause for commission-approved foreign gaming projects and licenses issued before July 1, 1977.
The issue raised by the regulation is whether the five-member commission still needs a grandfather clause for foreign gaming approvals as the state legislature repealed Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 463.690 back in 1993. NRS 463.690 formerly prohibited or otherwise limited a licensee’s foreign gaming activity or participation outside Nevada.
“The basis for the repeal is that the grandfather clause created by the regulation is no longer relevant or necessary,” said Edward Magaw, an attorney with the Nevada attorney general’s office.
“The current version of the regulation was enacted to provide the grandfather clause preserve all approvals related to foreign gaming granted prior to July 1, 1977, pursuant to the previous provisions of that regulation,” Magaw said. “Prior to the 1977 requirements relating to foreign gaming were governed by regulations.”
Then in 1977, Regulation 3,060 was moved into NRS 463.690, which required prior commission approval to participate in foreign gaming.
At that time, Magaw said, the grandfather clause was created to ensure that any previous approvals would not be affected in 1993 when the legislature repealed NRS 463.690.
That legislative decision made it “more of a call forward type of provision, rather than a mandatory requirement for prior approval before participating in foreign gaming,” Magaw added, “Because of this, any approvals issued by the commission prior to July 1, 1977, under 3.060 were no longer required.”
Magaw said that meant that the grandfather clause preserving such approvals was no longer necessary.
“Foreign gaming statues were adopted to ensure the participation by licensees outside of Nevada would not unfavorably impact the reputation and stability of Nevada’s gaming industry,” Sebastian Ross, senior policy counsel at the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB), said during the NGCB’s January 15 meeting.
NGCB chair Kirk Hendrick said the regulation was one that needs to be cleaned up. Hendrick said eliminating the grandfather clause was “not earth shattering but important that we don’t leave regulations clogging up our books.”
The three-member control board granted preliminary approval last month to repeal Regulation 3.060, clearing the way for the commission’s unanimous approval Thursday.
The elimination of the grandfather clause was the latest revision to Nevada’s foreign gaming reporting requirements.
In June 2023, the Nevada legislature approved Senate Bill 266 that removed statutory requirements that Nevada gaming licensees submit copies of all documents filed with regulators in other jurisdictions, as well as report annually regarding their compliance with gaming regulations outside Nevada.
Instead, the document requirement was replaced with a requirement to file a notice with Nevada regulators upon initiating gaming operations in another jurisdiction, whether they be foreign or domestic.
The requirement that licensees file annual operational and regulatory reports describing compliance with regulations, as well as audit and surveillance procedures related to markets outside the state was also removed from the statute.
Licensees are also required to notify Nevada regulators of the fact that “foreign gaming has entirely ceased.”
