NCLGS San Diego Winter Meeting: 2020 Event Recap

Next week a couple of hundred lawmakers, regulators, lawyers, and industry types will descend on sunny San Diego for the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS for short) winter meeting.

The three-day conference is organized and produced by Spectrum Gaming Group and features numerous panel discussions, networking opportunities, and a keynote address by American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller.

BettingUSA will be on hand with live Twitter updates and written recaps of the conference.

What You Need to Know About NCLGS Winter Meeting

Unlike the tens of thousands of attendees at ICE or G2E, NCLGS is an intimate conference that brings together key legislative, regulatory, and US gaming industry decision-makers. The conference provides a great opportunity to gauge where gaming expansions from land-based casinos to online sports betting stand in certain member states.

16 Contributing Member states comprise NCLGS:

• Georgia
• Nevada
• Massachusetts
• New Jersey
• Pennsylvania
• Michigan
• New Mexico
• Indiana
• Minnesota
• West Virginia
• Connecticut
• Kansas
• Delaware
• Ohio
• Florida
• Louisiana

Friday Panels

NCLGS is a three-day conference, but the bulk of the panels occur on Friday, with Saturday and Sunday being half-days to allow for private sessions for NCLGS members.

Every NCLGS conference (there are two every year) follows a similar pattern. The Friday panels (dubbed “Committees”) are broken up by gaming type (lottery, commercial casino, tribal casino, and pari-mutuel) as well as sessions on responsible gaming and emerging gaming.

Committee on Responsible Gaming

Chair: Senator Keith Pickard, Nevada

Presenters:

• Robert Jacobson, Executive Director, California Council on Problem Gambling
• Rachel Volberg, Research Professor, School of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Keith Whyte, Executive Director, National Council on Problem Gambling

Committee on Emerging Forms of Gaming

Chair: Senator Jon Ford, Indiana

Presenters:

• Joe Briggs, Staff Counsel, Public Policy Counsel, National Football League Players Association
• Marquest Meeks, Senior Counsel, Sports Betting & Investigations, Major League Baseball
• Naima Stevenson Starks, VP of Hearing Operations, National Collegiate Athletic Association

Committee on Indian Gaming

Chair: Senator Perry Thurston, Florida

Presenters:

• Susan Jensen, Executive Director, California Nations Indian Gaming Association
• Cody Martinez, Chairman, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation
• Katherine Spilde, Professor, L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, San Diego State University

Committee on Lotteries

Chair: Representative Kevin Ryan, Connecticut

Presenters:

• Howard Glaser, Global Head of Government Affairs and Special Initiatives, Scientific Games
• Stefano Monterosso, Senior Vice-President, Global Lottery Product and Same Store Sales, IGT
• May Scheve Reardon, Executive Director, Missouri Lottery

Committee on Casinos

Chair: Representative Brandt Iden, Michigan

Presenters:

• Frank Donaghue, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Chief Compliance Officer, Penn National
• Dave Trujillo, Director, Washington State Gambling Commission

Committee on Pari-Mutuel

Chair: Senator William Coley, Ohio

Presenters:

• Douglas Reed, Senior Pari-Mutuel Associate, Spectrum Gaming Group
• Eric Hamelback, CEO, The National HBPA
• Virgil Morgan Jr, Trainer, Member, Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association
• Gregory Simpson, Commissioner, Ohio State Racing Commission

Friday’s Luncheon Keynote

Friday’s lunch will include a keynote address from AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. Miller assumed the leadership role last year, taking over from Geoff Freeman, and has hit the ground running as sports betting rapidly expands across the US.

The address is titled, State of the Industry, and is described thusly:

“The gaming industry is in a period of rapid expansion and growth, facing new political challenges and opportunities every day. Bill Miller will provide an update on the state of the industry and his priorities for the AGA heading into 2020.”

Saturday at NCLGS San Diego

Saturday morning features a Special Presentation and two International Masters of Gaming Law Masterclasses.

Special Presentation: Unifying Stakeholders to Drive Responsible Gambling Effectiveness

Chair: Senator Keith Pickard, Nevada

Moderator: Alan Feldman, Distinguished Fellow, Responsible Gaming, University of Nevada, Las Vegas – International Gaming Institute

IMGL Masterclass 1: Tribal-State Gaming Compacts: Legal and Regulatory Trends and Topics

Moderator: Representative Joe Verrengia, Connecticut

Presenters:

• Jonodev O. Chaudhuri, Partner, Quarles & Brady
• Stephen Hart, Partner, Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie
• Thomas Springer, Partner, Quarles & Brady
• Jane Zerbi, Principal, Law Office of Jane Zerbi

IMGL Masterclass 2: Sports Betting: Learning from Best Practices

Moderator: Senator Keith Pickard, Nevada

Presenters:

• Kate Lowenhar-Fisher, Member, Dickinson Wright
• John Maloney, Principal Attorney, John K. Maloney Law
• Dan Reaser, Director, Fennemore Craig
• Sue Schneider, Vice President, Growth & Strategy/Americas, Sports Betting Community

Sunday at NCLGS San Diego

General Session: Attracting Capital Investment and Generating Employment

Moderator: Senator William Coley, Ohio

Presenters:

• Steve Geller, Principal, Geller Law Firm
• Robert Heller, CEO, Spectrum Gaming Capital
• Steve Norton, CEO, Norton Management
• Brian Sandoval, President of Global Gaming Development, MGM Resorts International

General Session: Addressing Problem Gambling Related to Sports Betting

Moderator: Senator Keith Pickard, Nevada

Presenters:

• Jenny Lu, Director of New Business, Optimove
• Martin Lycka, Director of Regulatory Affairs, GVC Holdings
• Melissa Riahei, US President, SBTech
• Jake Williams, Vice President, Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Sportradar