The American Gaming Association has long advocated for the eradication of unregulated illegal gambling websites. A bill in the Nevada State Senate seeks to codify the effort into law.
Unregulated offshore betting cost licensed gaming operators more than $17 billion in lost revenue nationwide last year, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA). The activity is now being targeted for elimination by Nevada.
Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) has authored SB256, which would allow Nevada courts to impose stiffer fines beyond the $50,000 fine illegal gambling operators currently face if convicted of violating the state’s online gaming laws. The legislation proposes that certain offenses be converted from misdemeanors into felonies while adding a required “disgorgement” of any profits associated with the activity.
Nguyen said the idea for the legislation came from discussions she had during conferences hosted by the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States and with Nevada gaming leadership, including the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM). The organization’s Executive Director Daron Dorsey was one of her law school classmates.
Dorsey said it was unclear as to how much Nevada was losing to unregulated gaming sites, but he said it was “in the millions to tens of million of dollars.”
Nguyen said she was interested in what the group was working on.
“They wanted someone to go after some of these illegal operators,” Nguyen said in an interview. “It’s a black market and it’s unregulated. The bill is pretty straightforward.”
The legislation was presented in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week and received support from AGEM, the Nevada Resort Association, the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and the Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Dorsey told the committee that illegal online gambling is growing and not getting smaller.
“Disgorgement of profits from the illegal activity is yet another avenue that will help punish illegal operators who come to Nevada,” he said. “We also hope the enactment of SB256 will discourage illegal operators from targeting Nevada residents in the first place.”
In a letter to the committee ahead of the hearing, Tres York, the AGA’s senior director of government relations, expressed support for SB256, writing that Nevada was “an example of leadership in effectively regulating gaming.”
York said illegal operators do not offer responsible gaming protocols or other customer protection requirements mandated by regulated markets. He said illegal operators “drain money out of Nevada” that would otherwise be collected in tax revenue.
“This legislation will ensure that those active in illegal gambling operations will not benefit from those activities in any way and serve as a deterrent for other individuals that may want to engage in similar illicit activity,” he said.
Nevada’s gaming industry has long opposed the legalization of online casinos because of competition with traditional casino operations. Several companies, such as Boyd Gaming, operate online casinos in other states in conjunction with their land-based casino businesses.
Although Nevada legalized online poker in 2013, the market never grew beyond more than four operators. The only active online poker businesses currently licensed are held by Caesars Entertainment for World Series of Poker and South Point Casino. The revenue figures from online poker are so small that the Control Board does not report their monthly and year-end revenue as an individual category.
Online sports betting is offered in Nevada, but a customer has to register an account at a casino with a regulated sportsbook. Major sportsbook operators, such as Draft Kings and FanDuel, have geolocation protocols that shut off their mobile apps in Nevada.
Just six states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan, have legalized online casinos in the past two decades. According to the AGA, legal online casinos produced $8.4 billion in revenue in 2024, a 29 percent increase from 2023.
However, the AGA said in February that illegal online casinos took in more than $402 billion in wagers during 2024, which resulted in $17.3 billion in revenue for those operations.
Hyatt Lake Tahoe renovations to benefit Full House’s on-site casino
Full House Resorts CEO Dan Lee said he expects the company’s short-term lease to operate the casino at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe in Incline Village will be extended.
And that casino could reap benefits if Hyatt Lake Tahoe owner Larry Ellison, who purchased the picturesque property in 2021 for $345 million, remodels the resort. Ellison is the founder of database company Oracle and has a net worth of $184.8 billion, according to Forbes.
“He is moving ahead and the first phase is the stuff along the beachfront,” Lee said during Full House’s quarterly earnings conference call on March 6. “Frankly, [the villas] along the beachfront were built 50 years ago and [the original developers] didn’t make use of the special real estate.”
Lee said the casino is in Hyatt Regency’s main building, which is across Lakeshore Boulevard from the villas. However, he said the casino operations “could be impacted because some of our customers like to stay in those villas.”
Full House said the lease, which it has held since 2011, has been renewed multiple times.
Long term, Lee said, “this already special property will probably be much more special under [Ellison] and we hope to continue to be part of it.” In addition to the villas, Lee said a restaurant, meeting rooms and banquet rooms would also be remodeled.
Hyatt’s casino is 19,000 square feet with 255 slot machines and 20 table games, which will become the smallest of Full House’s five properties once the $9.2 million sale of its Stockman’s Casino in Fallon is completed.
Las Vegas-based Full House expects to gain approval for the sale later this month.
Full House announced the deal in September to sell the Fallon property to Clarity Game of Las Vegas, a partnership between Michael Gaughan III and David Ross. Clarity paid $7 million upfront for the land and Full House continued to operate the 8,400-square-foot casino under a $50,000-a-month lease agreement.
The sale will be finalized once the Nevada Gaming Commission signs off on Clarity as the operator, which is expected to happen March 27. Clarity will pay Full House the remaining $2.2 million.
Full House has been focused on efforts outside of Nevada. The company opened the $250 million, 300-room Chamonix Casino Resort in Cripple Creek, Colorado, in 2023 and is operating a temporary casino in Waukegan, Illinois, roughly 40 miles north of downtown Chicago, ahead of building a planned $500 million resort.
What I’m reading
🌆 From Reno City Center to Revival: New owner of former Harrah’s wants fresh slate — Jason Hidalgo, Reno Gazette-Journal
North Carolina-based real estate investment firm Madison Capital Group is majority owner of the former Harrah’s Reno/Reno City Center, which has been renamed to Revival.
💸 Sphere stock at 14-month low, possible MSG Networks bankruptcy looms — Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico
Bankruptcy is an option for the regional sports network if it can’t refinance its debt of $804 million. However, creditors can’t make a claim on Sphere, whose finances are separate.
✈️ Spirit Airlines completes financial restructuring, exits Chapter 11 — Reuters
Spirit is second only to Southwest Airlines as Harry Reid International Airport’s largest air carrier with almost 8 million passengers in 2024.
🏈 The Bookmakers dinner: Inside one of Las Vegas’ most exclusive Super Bowl traditions — David Purdum, ESPN
“You probably have 500 combined years of Las Vegas bookmaking in this room.”
🤠 Casinos and sports betting won’t win approval in Texas House, group of GOP members say — Jasper Scherer, The Texas Tribune
A dozen Texas House Republicans who replaced pro-gambling lawmakers said they would oppose “any attempt to expand gambling.”
News, notes and quotes
📺 MGM Resorts appoints NBCUniversal executive to the company’s board
Donna Langley, the chairman of NBCUniversal Entertainment & Studios, became the 13th member of MGM Resorts International’s board and the company’s fifth female member. Langley oversees the entertainment programming decisions across NBCUniversal channels, including Peacock, Bravo and NBC, which showcase the network’s primetime and late-night lineup. MGM Resorts Chairman Paul Salem said in a statement that her background in content strategy, programming, distribution and marketing is an asset to the company.
🍸 Caesars to convert The Cromwell into The Vanderpump
The boutique Cromwell Hotel and Casino will become The Vanderpump through a partnership based on the businesses created by entrepreneur and reality television star Lisa Vanderpump. Cost for the renovation was not disclosed. Caesars said in a statement the project would be completed in 2026. The Cromwell, located on the northeast corner of the Strip and Flamingo Road, was formerly known as Barbary Coast and Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall. Vanderpump has four lounges at Caesars’ properties.
