Main Aspects of The Casino Gambling Regulation in The US Nowadays

A foundation of contemporary casino gambling regulation is the presumption that those involved in the ownership or control of casino operations must be deemed “suitable” for licensure or involvement in gambling. Appointed boards or commissions should be given broad powers to assess the background and integrity of owners and others deemed “key persons” of a gambling company. 78 The chief regulatory body should be empowered to establish which individuals or entities are deemed key persons. In order to be effective, regulators must be authorized to conduct in-depth background investigations. Legislation should mandate “full cooperation” from applicants, wherein the failure to provide information is grounds for determining unsuitability. It is advisable that persons with a felony conviction be statutorily prohibited from serving as a key person. It is also advisable for gambling statutes to explicitly authorize the gambling regulatory authority to compel the “disassociation” of persons found “unsuitable” for involvement, in addition to the authority to deny licensure to an entity. Personnel assigned to conduct investigations should be law enforcement officers of the state, as they have wide-ranging access to criminal and background information.

Enforcement
On-site agents enhance the ability of a regulatory body to identify operating irregularities. One of the most powerful tools in overseeing the conduct of gambling operations is the video camera surveillance system. Typically, surveillance requirements are imposed by rules and regulation rather than by statute.

Conformance with Anti-Gambling Statutes
Every state has statutory provisions that criminalize various forms of gambling activity. In enacting legislation authorizing gambling, proper attention should be paid to crafting appropriate exemptions to existing gambling prohibitions. Enforcing the honesty and integrity of legalized casino gambling requires an ability to prosecute those who engage in cheating at otherwise legal games. Attention must be paid to ensuring that appropriate and clearly enforceable criminal statutes exist to prosecute casino gambling cheaters.

Non-Gambling Business Relationships
A casino, like any large business, engages in a diverse set of outside business relationships in order to conduct operations. For this reason, it is important that casino jurisdictions— by statute, by rule, or both— exert a measure of oversight over all procurement decisions made by operators. This oversight might entail licensure of (non-gambling) provider entities or other regulatory measures. It is preferable that casino gambling enabling legislation expressly require that financing for casino operations be approved by the regulatory authority as being “appropriate and from a suitable source.”

78 A key person may be an individual or an entity that, by position, office, ownership, or relationship can exercise control or significant influence over, the broad policies, management or operations of a licensed entity. (Belletire)