Nevada's new technical standards likely to take effect late next year

Proposed changes to Nevada’s technical standards will likely take effect next October after a first hearing before regulators this week.

Sweeping updates to Nevada’s technical standards for gaming equipment and systems could take effect as soon as 1 October 2027, after the Nevada Gaming Control Board considered the extensive changes at its meeting Wednesday.

A total of ten revised standards were presented by Jeremy Eberwein, chief of the board’s technology division. Three of the standards – Standards 3, 5 and 6 – were updated versions of existing language while Standards 7-13 were newly drafted for the first time. The documents lay out protocols for a range of products and systems, including slots, race and sportsbooks, bingo and more.

The goal of the process is to clarify and compile technical information in one place. Currently, stakeholders consult Nevada’s Minimum Internal Control Standards (MICs), industry notices and other sources for technical guidance, which can be cumbersome and unclear at times. Eberwein and his team prioritised the front-end work of compiling the information in hopes of streamlining future matters for licencees and the board.

“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,” Eberwein said during his presentation.

First drafts of the standards were posted by the board earlier this year, and Eberwein noted changes to the drafts that licencees had requested. After hearing the new drafts with the anticipated tweaks, the board opted to repost the revised set for public comment by 15 November while keeping the proposed 1 October 2027 adoption date.

Reducing the clutter

Innovation and technology have been points of emphasis for the board since Chairman Mike Dreitzer assumed the role last year. With experience at suppliers like Gaming Arts and testing labs like BMM, Dreitzer is intimately familiar with gaming technology and told iGB in January that the “lack of regulatory consistency” was a chief concern with regard to approvals and new products.

Eberwein spent nearly 10 years at the board before leaving in 2023 – he returned to the regulator after Dreitzer took office last year, and the technical standard overhauls were stopped and started for several years before this most recent push.

“Bringing everything into one source I think is just a huge advancement here,” Eberwein said during an interview with iGB at the Global Gaming Expo last week. “Instead of having to go to five different places to determine whether or not your product will work in Nevada, now there’s two, there’s regulation and technical standards and that’s it.”

“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, not having to look at policies, not having to look at 15 years’ worth of industry notices…People can look at one or two documents and they’re happy with that.”

Industry collaboration

This willingness to collaborate with the industry has been lauded by stakeholders. No comments were given by licencees during Wednesday’s hearing but Daron Dorsey, president of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers, was on hand to thank regulators for their 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, and wherever we find ways that we can collaborate and make things better and modernise Nevada, we’re all for it,” Dorsey said.

In response, Dreitzer noted the importance of being flexible and adaptable “without giving an inch in terms of security” and protecting Nevada’s reputation as the top gaming state in the US.

“We very much view this as a partnership with the goal of being safer, being quicker and more responsive,” Dreitzer said.