Staying on top of the ever-evolving gaming world can be tricky, even for industry experts. And with technological advances—think facial recognition applications or learning-based robot card dealers—comes an entire set of challenges in adapting.
Keeping up with those changes is paramount for the leaders at UNLV’s International Center for Gaming Regulation (ICGR), a research and training guidepost for gaming industry policymakers.
“I don’t talk to anyone in the industry, whether it’s operators or manufacturers or regulators, who doesn’t think about how technology can make them more efficient and impact what they do,” said Joe Bertolone, the center’s newly announced executive director. “How will technology continue to impact them? That’s what people are thinking about.”
The idea for the center, which opened in 2016, was for it to serve as a top-notch education and research organization for gaming regulatory and compliance matters. It has worked with regulators around the world, in places such as Austria, Japan, South Africa, Canada and South America.
“People are very concerned about fairness, from a regulatory perspective,” Bertolone said. “That’s a tough challenge. Every jurisdiction has different laws. Every jurisdiction has different concerns and needs as companies and regulators come together to operate in this industry. Every business wants certainty. When I’m in Europe, I hear that, and I hear it when I travel domestically. What we do here is to try to help that process.”
Bertolone, a Nevada native with more than 25 years of industry experience, once served as the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s technology division chief. He also served as its chief of administration before moving to the private sector in 2007, where he most recently worked as North American president for slot manufacturer Ainsworth Game Technology.
Becky Harris, former chairwoman of the Gaming Control Board and an academic fellow for the center, said Bertolone is the right person to help grow the center’s influence. Bertolone replaced Andre Wilsenac, who moved on to a government relations position with BMM Testlabs in the United Kingdom.
“In an industry as diverse and multifaceted as gaming, it’s crucial that we employ leaders who are experts in their respective fields and can help bridge the government-university-industry gap,” Harris said. “It’s going to be exciting to see how Joe helps to grow the center. I know that’s one of his main goals.”
One area Bertolone has targeting for growth: sports gambling. As of late February, sports betting had become legal in 14 states, and six others, along with the District of Columbia, are in the process of rolling out guidelines.
Along with gambling laws being relaxed in some states following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2018, mobile gaming options have also expanded in recent years. What Bertolone refers to as the “mobileness” of sports wagering is becoming widespread, including here in Nevada. Released late last month, state gaming revenue numbers for January showed that 49% of the state’s sports wagers were made through a mobile app.
“There’s been a lot of new technology coming into the industry for the last 20 years,” Bertolone said. “The industry has to keep up with technology, and I think that’s just the standard operating condition that we have. I think that’s true in every industry, but certainly for any regulated industry.”
Though Nevada has experience managing the potentially addictive nature of gambling, other regions and states might not. That opens up opportunities, Bertolone said, for outreach and education.
“As gaming expands, specifically domestically with sports betting, responsible gaming is something that everyone in the industry is concerned about,” Bertolone said. “I think people are concerned about it for all the right reasons. It’s the right thing to think about when you expand any industry, and it helps us craft better products and regulations. It’s better for the gaming ecosystem to consider those things.”
Bertolone is eager to help the institute influence gaming globally. Being part of the local gaming regulation community comes with much prestige.
“Being the only institute in the world, that we know of, that focuses on the gaming industry, that’s an incredible opportunity for UNLV students,” Bertolone said. “There’s the hospitality college here and the law school, then the ICGR and the [International Gaming Institute]. We have access. Most of the corporate headquarters of the all the major gaming companies are either here in Las Vegas or they have major operations here—all within a 10-mile radius of the UNLV campus.”