Resort industry looks to stop Nevada lottery proposal from reaching the ballot
This week’s Indy Gaming previews the upcoming discussion in Carson City that could lead to Nevada implementing a state lottery. However, similar to winning a life-changing jackpot, we don’t know if lawmakers can catch the right numbers.
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The Legislature will once again consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would remove a 159-year-old prohibition on Nevada operating a lottery. The measure, AJR5, passed easily in both legislative chambers in 2023 but requires a second approval before it can be sent to Nevada voters in 2026.
History, however, isn’t on its side. More than two dozen legislative attempts to implement a Nevada lottery since 1887 have failed and never made it out of Carson City.
The effort also faces headwinds this legislative session from the casino industry, which opposed the effort two years ago but is taking a more aggressive stance in 2025 and is determined to keep Nevada’s place as one of just five states without a statewide lottery.
Soon after the gavel came down on the 2023 session, the Nevada Resort Association, the gaming industry’s lobbying and trade group, began an effort to persuade lawmakers — including legislative candidates in the 2024 election — that having a lottery doesn’t work in Nevada.
“To say that a statewide lottery is going to net a couple of $100 million a year in revenue is somewhat unfounded,” Resort Association lobbyist Nick Vassiliadis said in an interview, adding that there was little talk last session about the parameters of a proposed lottery, such as offering scratch-off tickets or becoming part of the multistate lottery system.
“You need to get down into the weeds in terms of what type of lottery you plan on running,” he said. “That discussion never took place.”
Vassiliadis added that Nevada is unique among the five non-lottery states because it's home to a statewide casino industry that produced $15.5 billion in revenue in 2023, serving as one of the dominant economic engines. Gambling plays a minuscule role in the other four: Hawaii and Utah don’t have any forms of legal gambling, while Alabama and Alaska have only tribal casinos.
As casino expansion moved beyond Nevada, starting with New Jersey in 1978, gaming companies entered markets where they had to coexist with long-standing state-run lotteries.
According to the California Lottery, the state’s two most prolific lottery ticket retailers are operated by Nevada gaming companies — Truckee Gaming’s Gold Ranch Casino & RV Resort in Verdi and Affinity Gaming, which has three casinos in Primm. Both outlets are on the California side of the state line, but their primary customers are Nevada residents.
Gaming leaders oppose a Nevada lottery because of the billions of dollars hotel and casino operators have invested in building and operating resorts that support nearly 400,000 jobs. Industry leaders said a lottery using convenience store or gas station kiosks offers gambling opportunities with far fewer benefits to the economy at large.
“We’ve had a little more lead time than we did in the last session and we used [the year-and-half] as an opportunity to answer specific questions from legislators,” Vassiliadis said. “We want to have a policy discussion on a lottery. That was one of our frustrations from the last session.”
In a letter submitted to the Legislature in 2023, Red Rock Resorts Senior Vice President of Government Relations Michael Britt wrote that allowing a lottery to compete against casino operators “goes against seven decades of proven sound public policy.”
Culinary Workers Union Local 226, which represents some 60,000 non-gaming employees at Strip and downtown properties, was the primary advocate behind the lottery along with other labor groups, although Culinary leadership hasn't staked out a clear position on the bill heading into the 2025 session. The main sponsor of the legislation, Assemblyman Cameron (C.H.) Miller (D-North Las Vegas), didn’t seek re-election in 2024.
Union representatives testified in 2023 that tax revenue raised by the lottery would be targeted toward funding statewide youth mental health programs and services. The legislation, however, made no mention of mental health issues.
“We said right from the beginning that this is where the money needs to go,” Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in an interview. “It’s a vehicle. To us, it wasn’t about the lottery, it was about youth mental health. More needs to be done.”
Pappageorge cited The Nevada Independent’s recent four-part series on youth mental health in rural Nevada as a sign that the issue isn’t going away. Mental health services for youth and adults are a critical component of the four Culinary Health Centers — two of which are operating and two of which are under construction — that serve the families of union members.
“We’re going to continue to challenge Democrats and Republicans to do more,” Pappageorge said. “I can’t tell you where we’re at on the lottery right now. But I can tell you we’re all in on mental health.”
The closest Nevada came to legalizing a lottery came when in 1899, Nevada lawmakers passed a lottery proposal but the measure was defeated in the 1901 session. The last two times the issue came up — in 2011 and 2015 — the bill never made it out of committee.
It's expected that AJR5 will follow the same process that it took in 2023 with Assembly leadership sending the bill to its Legislative Operations and Elections Committee for discussion. However, lawmakers could avoid a vote on the measure by not giving it a hearing and letting AJR5 die in committee.
Woman who profited from illegal bookmaker husband’s gambling settles with regulators
The wife of an illegal bookmaker, who as an independent agent affiliated with Resorts World Las Vegas allowed her husband to gamble millions of dollars at the Strip resort, settled a two-count complaint with the Nevada Gaming Control Board without having to pay a fine.
Nicole Bowyer, who had a contract to bring in customers to Resorts World and profited off her husband’s gambling, agreed to have her registration as an agent be revoked and she will effectively be banned from working in the Nevada gaming industry for five years.
The stipulated settlement will be discussed at Thursday’s meeting of the Nevada Gaming Commission, which has to approve the agreement.
Mathew Bowyer, who pleaded guilty in federal court last August to operating an illegal gambling business, money laundering and filing a false tax return, never filed any documentation about the source of his funds. His activities were disclosed in a 12-count complaint the control board filed last August against Resorts World and its owner, Malaysia-based Genting Berhad. The property and Genting are facing multimillion-dollar fines.
In the settlement with Nicole Bowyer, the control board said she is working with gaming agents and other law enforcement authorities in the investigation. She had not cooperated previously.
According to the complaint, Nicole Bowyer earned commissions of almost $166,000 in 2022 and more than $501,000 in 2023 on her husband’s gambling. Her husband gambled and lost more than $8 million during a 20-month period and never established the source of his funds, which violated federal anti-money laundering laws.
What I'm reading
💰 MGM agrees to pay $45 million to settle data-breach lawsuit — James Rundle, The Wall Street Journal
The deal would resolve a consolidated class-action case involving two cyberattacks, one of which cost MGM Resorts $100 million.
🏀 An ex-NBA player's plan for a $5-billion Las Vegas arena is an empty pit. What went wrong? — Nathan Fenno, Los Angeles Times
Former UNLV star Jackie Lee Robinson has been sued by investors seeking to recover millions of dollars for the never-built All Net Resort and Arena.
✈️ Is sports gambling on planes next? — Alex Schiffer, Front Office Sports
A concept bill introduced by a Connecticut state lawmaker would allow bettors to wager during flights that originate or terminate in the state. However, it raises major questions about compliance with federal laws.
🌴 Hawaiian legislation seeks to legalize sports betting on pro sports — John Burnett, Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Hawaii and Utah are the only two U.S. states without any form of legalized gambling.
⚖️ Alaskan tribe opens temporary casino despite an ongoing lawsuit opposing it — Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News
Alaska’s governor wants the Trump administration to overturn a ruling allowing the casino to advance.
News, notes and quotes
🏈 Las Vegas to host the college football championship in 2027
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority CEO Steve Hill set a goal two years ago of bringing the College Football National Championship game to Allegiant Stadium. That mission was accomplished last week when the College Football Playoff committee announced the 2027 game was scheduled for Jan. 25 at Allegiant. The venue hosted Super Bowl LVIII a year ago and will host the NCAA Final Four Men’s Basketball Championship in April 2028.
💲 Raiders donate $1.7M to the Las Vegas community in 2024
The Las Vegas Raiders released its 2024 Impact Playbook, which outlines the more than $1.7 million the NFL team awarded to the community — a requirement outlined through the team’s community benefits agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority — through in-kind donations to local nonprofits and educational programs. Events, such as the inaugural Silver & Black Gala, raised funds for mental health resources and awarded $500,000 to the Legal Aid of Southern Nevada’s Resiliency & Justice Center, which serves victims of crime. “Our owner, Mark Davis, has always said our commitment to this community goes far beyond the field,” said Raiders President Sandra Douglass Morgan.