UNLV will resume a gaming educational series next week with a focus on sports betting and esports.
The panel discussion, scheduled for next Thursday, come as the Nevada Gaming Control Board considers allowing people who live outside the state to make wagers through local sportsbooks. Changes, however, would have to be made in the Federal Wire Act, which prohibits sports wagering across state lines.
The proliferation of sports betting nationwide – in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in May that struck down a federal ban outside Nevada – has raised questions on what impact it will have on Silver State. Sports betting is underway in New Jersey, Delaware, Mississippi, West Virginia and New Mexico. Pennsylvania the next in line with other states are expected to follow.
If approved by the Gaming Control Board, Nevada would only allow the wagers if permitted by the federal government and respective states. The board is also considering allowing an expansion of betting that could permit wagers on the Oscars and other entertainment events.
The latest round in the UNLV Gaming & Hospitality Education Series kicks off at 9 a.m. with a panel discussion on what the expansion of sports betting means to Nevada, how will the state respond, and whether it can remain the capital of sports betting and the prime mover in the expanding sports betting industry.
The panel features Joe Asher, president and CEO of William Hill US; Matt Davey, CEO at SG Digital; Lee Richardson, founder and CEO of Gaming Economics; Mark Lipparelli, a former control board chairman and founder and CEO of Gionco Ventures; and Vic Salerno, president of USBookmaking. His company opened the nation’s first tribal sports book Tuesday in New Mexico. John English, a partner with Global Market Advisors, will serve as the moderator.
English said the discussion will have a more Nevada-centric approach compared to last week’s Global Gaming Expo and be more detailed as part of a continuing education program. He predicted the expansion in other states won’t make a huge impact on the industry in Nevada because it makes up a small segment of gaming revenues.
“The bottom line, people are always going to want to come to Vegas, especially since we have become a sports town with the Raiders, Golden Knights and WNBA, and people are now talking about NBA and Major League Baseball,” English said. “I don’t think anybody will take a large bite of our existing sports betting. I think what is happening with the expansion instead is that it will teach more people about sports betting so that that when come to places like Las Vegas, they have even a better time.”
The second session starts at 11 a.m. and is entitled, “The esports Phenomenon: Can Casinos Cash In?
With millennials playing video games and competitions ramping up over the last decade as if they were traditional sports in arenas, the session talks about the gaming industry investing millions of dollars hosting tournaments and building esports centers.
The panelists will talk about the opportunities and challenges that casinos face when considering implementing esports activities and betting on it.
Robert Rippee, director of the hospitality lab at the UNLV International Gaming Institute will moderate the panel that features Drew Brunson, vice president of eSports for Caesars Entertainment; Ben Fox, a partner of Gameacon, a game arts conference; Alex Igelman, executive chairman of Millennial Esports that built an esports arena in downtown Las Vegas; and Rahul Sood, CEO of Unikrn, an esports betting company.
Roger Gros, publisher of Global Gaming Business Magazine and one of the sponsors of the educational series, said esports remains a mystery to many casinos when it comes to how they can capitalize on it.
“It’s an opportunity as big as sports betting if they do it right,” Gros said. “The question is they are not sure how to do it. There are a lot of different ways to do it. The Downtown Grand has done it with an esports lounge and a holding a few tournaments. MGM invites the big tournaments in with 15,000 to 20,000 people watching it.”
The series is a cooperative effort between the UNLV William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, Casino Connection Intl., LLC, publishers of Global Gaming Business (GGB) Magazine, and Applied Management Strategies.
Episodes are held on the campus of UNLV at the Stan Fulton Building-International Gaming Institute in Las Vegas. A networking cocktail reception will be held after each session. Episodes are also available as a LIVE-streaming webinar or can be viewed online a later time.
This is the fourth series among six scheduled at UNLV this year. A session for November has been pushed back to December 13th, which will now have a morning and afternoon session on player development, payment processing and iGaming.
For more information and to register, go to
