Nevada Gaming Control Board eyes 1 October 2027 start for consolidated technical standards

The Nevada Gaming Control Board is moving toward a major overhaul of its technical standards for gaming equipment and systems, with adoption proposed for 1 October 2027. The board considered the changes at its meeting on Wednesday.

Jeremy Eberwein, chief of the board's technology division, presented ten revised standards. Standards 3, 5 and 6 are updated versions of existing language, while Standards 7 to 13 were drafted for the first time. The documents cover protocols for products and systems including slots, race and sportsbooks, bingo and other areas.

The aim is to bring technical information together in a single place. At present, stakeholders must consult Nevada's Minimum Internal Control Standards, industry notices and other sources, which can be cumbersome and unclear. Eberwein said the goal was mainly to take technical requirements from the MICs and combine them with policies, industry notices and clarifications from the past 15 years into a more concise source. He told iGB at the Global Gaming Expo that, rather than checking five different places to see whether a product will work in Nevada, developers would need only two: the regulation and the technical standards.

First drafts were posted earlier this year, and Eberwein noted changes that licensees had requested. After hearing the updated drafts, the board decided to repost the revised set for public comment until 15 November, while keeping the proposed 1 October 2027 adoption date.

Innovation and technology have been priorities for the board since Chairman Mike Dreitzer took the role last year. Dreitzer has worked at suppliers such as Gaming Arts and testing labs such as BMM, and told iGB in January that a lack of regulatory consistency was a chief concern for approvals and new products. Eberwein spent nearly 10 years at the board before leaving in 2023 and returned after Dreitzer took office. Efforts to overhaul the technical standards had stopped and started over several years before this latest push.

Licensees offered no comments at the hearing, but Daron Dorsey, president of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, thanked regulators for their transparency and regular outreach to the industry. Dreitzer responded that the board must be flexible and adaptable without giving an inch on security, and described the effort as a partnership aimed at being safer, quicker and more responsive.