In The News: International Gaming Institute
The latest wave of artificial intelligence (AI) has given gambling firms a new tool to work with. Companies say it enhances the customer experience.

Fifth-generation Nevadan Bo Bernhard is vice president of economic development and a professor at UNLV and served as the inaugural research director at the UNLV International Gaming Institute. His great great grandfather was a card dealer in Dust Bowl-era Texas and Oklahoma who got tired of ending up on the wrong side of the law while working and moved to Las Vegas. His own family’s story, Bernhard says, is an example of how gambling and tourism have resulted in many different people deciding to live and work in Las Vegas, and these days, “the stuff attracting people is more mainstream. The NFL is something that’s beloved, and you can find it in 32 locales across the United States.”
As Problem Gambling Awareness Month is about to get underway, states around the country, weighing whether they have been doing enough

The month of March marks the beginning of Problem Gambling Awareness Month, which is a nationwide grassroots campaign, that seeks to increase public awareness of problem gambling and promote prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
For the first time since 2008, federal regulations around gaming agreements between tribal nations and states are getting a refresh. The Department of the Interior says the updated rules give “certainty and clarity” on the criteria it weighs when evaluating those agreements.
At 28, Edward Craven has built Stake.com into one of the world’s biggest gambling enterprises. But there is another side to its hot streak.

Robert Rippee has been a central figure in the development of the Black Fire Innovation Hub since its inception.

In the days leading up to kickoff, users of Fliff, a popular mobile gaming app, placed more than 200,000 “bets” on last month’s NFL conference championship games. They bet on Patrick Mahomes throwing for at least 240 yards, on Christian McCaffrey scoring the first touchdown and on the usual array of money line, point spread and over-under offerings. They did it, in many cases, without verifying their age or even spending a dollar.

When the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers face off at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, Feb. 11, they will compete for football's highest honor at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It was unthinkable because, for many years, professional sports teams, including the NFL, refused to go anywhere near Las Vegas, thanks to its seedy reputation.
In Vegas, gambling is complemented by a host of other amenities and entertainment options, to the point that gaming is only one of a number of revenue streams. Research by the University of Nevada Las Vegas suggested that gaming made up 34.4% of Las Vegas Strip revenue in 2019.

Megan Basson has been named executive director for the UNLV International Center for Gaming Regulation.
This year’s edition features high flyers from different facets of the industry, including Fontainebleau’s Jeffrey Soffer, Pavilion’s Chris Justice, Playtech’s Mor Weizer, UNLV’s Brett Abarbanel and many more.