Nevada's Gaming Control Board is moving forward with a significant overhaul of technical standards for gaming equipment and systems, targeting an implementation date of October 1, 2027. This decision follows a meeting held on Wednesday where ten revised technical standards were presented by Jeremy Eberwein, head of the board's technology division.
Among the updates, three standards—Standards 3, 5, and 6—represent updates to existing guidelines, while Standards 7 through 13 are newly developed. The comprehensive standards cover various products and systems, including gaming machines, sports betting operations, and bingo.
The fundamental objective of this initiative is to streamline and consolidate technical information into a more accessible format. At present, many stakeholders reference Nevada’s Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICs), industry notices, and other documentation, a practice that can often be convoluted and unclear. Eberwein emphasized the importance of this front-end work, designed to simplify processes for licensees and the Gaming Control Board moving forward.
Eberwein stated, "The goal of these standards was primarily to take technical requirements from the MICs and consolidate them with policies, industry notices, and clarifications from the past 15 years into a more concise source."
Earlier drafts of the standards were published by the board earlier in the year, and according to Eberwein, amendments were made following feedback from licensees. After presenting the updated drafts, the board decided to share the revised versions for public comment by November 15, while maintaining the proposed adoption date of October 1, 2027.
Since taking over as chairman last year, Mike Dreitzer has placed a strong emphasis on innovation and technology. With a background at suppliers like Gaming Arts and testing labs such as BMM, he has expressed concerns about the "lack of regulatory consistency" hampering the approval of new products.
Eberwein, who previously spent almost a decade at the board before briefly leaving in 2023, returned under Dreitzer’s leadership. He underscored the importance of centralizing information to enhance clarity for stakeholders.
"Bringing everything into one source I think is just a huge advancement here," Eberwein stated in an interview at the Global Gaming Expo. "Instead of having to go to five different places to determine whether or not your product will work in Nevada, now there’s two: regulation and technical standards. That’s it."
He added, "A lot of this is taking all the questions we’ve gotten over the last decade and trying to give people a resource they can go to right away without any interpretation—without having to look at policies or 15 years’ worth of industry notices. People can just look at one or two documents and they’re satisfied with that."
The board's collaborative approach has been well-received by industry stakeholders. While no specific comments were made by licensees during Wednesday's hearing, Daron Dorsey, president of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, expressed gratitude for the board's ongoing transparency.
"I just wanted to be here to let you guys know that this agency is reaching out to the industry on a week-by-week, month-by-month basis and we appreciate that," Dorsey remarked, highlighting the importance of working together to modernize Nevada's gaming regulations.
Dreitzer responded by emphasizing the need to maintain flexibility while ensuring security, aiming to uphold Nevada’s reputation as a leading gaming state in the U.S.
"We very much view this as a partnership with the goal of being safer, being quicker, and more responsive," Dreitzer concluded.
