In The News: Division of Research
September is Responsible Gaming Education Month, and the industry’s efforts to promote that cause are now in their 35th year due, in no small part, to one of the largest casino operators on the Las Vegas Strip. Caesars Entertainment was the first commercial casino company to advance responsible gaming with the launch of its Project 21 initiative in 1989.
Recreational cannabis has been legal in Nevada since 2017. By most measures legal pot has been a success, serving the public while generating nearly a billion dollars in sales and more than $130 million in tax revenue annually without causing significant societal harm.
Can the major industries of gaming and cannabis ever co-exist in Nevada? Policy experts, industry insiders and local leaders are discussing the possibilities within state law, all to give tourists and locals more consumer options. UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute and the UNLV International Gaming Institute recently held a panel on federal regulations, state and local laws, and interest from industry leaders in gaming and cannabis.
Nevada has held itself as the “gold standard” in gaming regulation for more than three score. And now, for nearly a decade, the state has used that model to claim its stake as a leader in cannabis regulation, too. But bringing those two together has been more like oil and water than chocolate and peanut butter.
Nevada has held itself as the “gold standard” in gaming regulation for more than three score. And now, for nearly a decade, the state has used that model to claim its stake as a leader in cannabis regulation, too. But bringing those two together has been more like oil and water than chocolate and peanut butter.
Cash and credit cards in your wallet or purse, or a digital payments app on your mobile device: Which option fosters responsible gaming more efficiently and effectively? Dallas Holmes, Director of Customer Care and Training for Sightline Payments, knows the answer, which came through extensive research. “Sightline is proud that in 2023 we contributed over one hundred million (anonymous) digital payment transactions to the UNLV International Gaming Institute for analysis in this research,” Holmes said.
It’s illegal to smoke or consume cannabis products in Nevada casinos, but marijuana use on the Resort Corridor is still prevalent. From the storefronts on Fremont Street advertising various types of flower to the tourists crammed into alleyways or in parking garages adjoining Strip resorts enjoying a smoke, many people aren’t aware that cannabis has been outlawed from gaming establishment properties.
It’s illegal to smoke or consume cannabis products in Nevada casinos, but marijuana use on the Resort Corridor is still prevalent. From the storefronts on Fremont Street advertising various types of flower to the tourists crammed into alleyways or in parking garages adjoining Strip resorts enjoying a smoke, many people aren’t aware that cannabis has been outlawed from gaming establishment properties.
It’s illegal to smoke or consume cannabis products in Nevada casinos, but marijuana use on the Resort Corridor is still prevalent. From the storefronts on Fremont Street advertising various types of flower to the tourists crammed into alleyways or in parking garages adjoining Strip resorts enjoying a smoke, many people aren’t aware that cannabis has been outlawed from gaming establishment properties.
Nevada casinos would make a titanic splash if they pushed to allow cannabis products to be consumed in their resorts. But don’t count on that happening anytime soon.
It seemed only natural after Nevada voters authorized the recreational use of marijuana in 2016 that the Silver State’s biggest and newest “sin industries” would one day overlap. But as for any potential relationship between Nevada’s casino and cannabis industries, experts say that at least in the near future, it’s a full stop.
Earlier this year, 30-year-old Peter Moran decided to make sports betting his full-time job. On TikTok, where he posts as PickEmPetey, he has an audience of more than 50,000 followers who watch him livestream, recap picks, and share his analysis. Moran also creates content around advice such as bankroll management.