Bo Bernhard

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Vice President of Economic Development

Professor, Sociology and Hospitality

Special Advisor, International Gaming Institute

Expertise: Gaming, Tourism, Problem Gambling, Sports Wagering

Biography

Bo Bernhard's research and teaching work focuses on the impacts of gaming and tourism industries on communities around the world. His grant-funded studies have supported more than a dozen student researchers who share his interest in examining the sociological laboratory of Las Vegas. He is currently exploring the long-term health of problem gamblers and Nevada’s regulated sports betting industry within the context of professional sports in Las Vegas. In addition, he has studied the health contours of multiethnic and multiracial individuals in the United States.

He began his research career at Harvard University, with an undergraduate thesis on the community impacts of the gaming and tourism industries in Nevada. He then came to UNLV to earn his Ph.D. and soon extended his analysis to global perspectives.

In 2010, he was named executive editor of the UNLV Gaming Research Journal and a Lincy Fellow at UNLV’s Brookings Mountain West. Bernhard spent more than a decade as executive director of UNLV's International Gaming Institute (IGI) before transitioning in 2023 to serve full-time as UNLV vice president of economic development. He maintains his affiliation with IGI as special advisor.

His work on gambling, society, and Las Vegas has been prominently featured on CNN, The Discovery Channel, the BBC, and The History Channel.

Education

Ph.D., ��ҳ| �鶹��ýӳ��
B.A., Sociology, Harvard University
B.S., Psychology, Harvard University

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economy, gaming & gambling, hospitality & tourism, Las Vegas, Nevada, social issues

Bo Bernhard In The News

Focus Gaming News

The organisers of the Regulating the Game conference have announced Dr. Bo Bernhard, vice president of economic development at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, will headline its 2025 edition in Sydney. “Dr. Bernhard is not just any speaker—he’s a fifth-generation Nevadan whose global work has taken him from the glitz of Las Vegas to South Africa, Europe, Japan, Singapore, and beyond.

Yogonet Gaming News

The Regulating the Game conference has announced that Dr. Bo Bernhard, Vice President of Economic Development at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, will headline its 2025 edition in Sydney. Now in its fifth year, the conference is set to take place on March 10 - 13.

Inside Asian Gaming

Leading gambling law and regulation conference Regulating the Game has announced Dr Bo Bernhard, Vice President of Economic Development at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, as a headline speaker at its 2025 edition, to be held in Sydney from 10 to 13 March. A well-known industry figure, Bernhard is also a fifth-generation Nevadan whose global work has taken him from the glitz of Las Vegas to South Africa, Europe, Japan, Singapore and beyond. A Harvard graduate with a double major in sociology and psychology, his groundbreaking research on the socio-economic impacts of the Las Vegas Strip set the stage for a distinguished international career.

Even as locals complain about the rapidly rising cost of entertainment in Las Vegas, the vice president of economic development at UNLV says the city should press to continue its role in “the fun economy.”