A group of industry experts from the worlds of casino gaming and cannabis met this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, to discuss the potential for collaboration between the two sectors.
Both long considered vices by many, the two industries have seen huge growth in recent years as attitudes and regulations change across the U.S., especially in Nevada.
The Silver State legalized recreational marijuana consumption in 2016, and since 2022, Las Vegas’ gambling revenues have been smashing record after record.
As indulgent practice for many, but a way of life for some, the two businesses naturally share market overlap. That’s as anyone who has smelled pungent pot smoke right outside casino doors on the Las Vegas Strip can tell you.
But according to the expert panel who spoke at the University of Nevada’s Boyd Law School this week, don’t bet on closer collaboration happening anytime in the immediate future.
The Discussion
The panel discussion was organized through the joint effort of the UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute and International Gaming Institute. It was held in the Boyd School of Law, Las Vegas’ only law school, founded in 1998 with donations from Boyd Gaming.
The two-hour seminar saw five panelists speak individually from their perspective, and then a group discussion with audience questions.
The guests were Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom (who has a strain of pot named after him, by the way), lawyer and general counsel of Wynn Resorts’ Wynn Interactive Jennifer Roberts, and cannabis law expert Robert Hoban.
They were joined by the directors of the two organizing parties, Rianna Durret of the Cannabis Policy Institute and Brett Abarbanel of the Gaming Institute.
State of Play
All the panelists were clear on one thing: as the law stands right now, collaboration between gambling operators and cannabis brands or consumers is highly unlikely. Cannabis remains a federal Schedule 1 drug, complicating matters for national businesses.
“What it really comes down to is what the regulators tell you to do, you’re going to do,” said Roberts.
She made clear that she was speaking in her private capacity as a Boyd Law School professor and not as a legal counsel for Wynn. But she translated that experience to a general overview of how casino resort operators think on the issue right now.
“Regulators have long told us in the gaming world that cannabis and gaming should not mix. And we followed that directive. The position has been, since they issued a first memo back in 2014, that it’s a violation of federal law to allow for the use and consumption and distribution of cannabis. And they cannot sanction a violation of federal law.”
The current situation is muddied by the complex legality of recreational cannabis consumption in Nevada. Currently, it is, technically, illegal to smoke weed outside of a private residence, or very recently, a few licensed consumption lounges off the Las Vegas Strip.
But as mentioned before, people smoke weed along Las Vegas Boulevard every single day, as most people are aware that cops aren’t bothered to chase them.
The Future
But most agreed it is likely, possibly even a sure thing, that it will happen in the future.
“We need to get people ready for the inevitable,” said Segerbloom, a longtime cannabis legalization advocate.
““That’s the best irony in this whole thing, is that it’s already happening everywhere, both incidents — gaming and marijuana — are happening together, separately, but all over everywhere, so we’re talking about an imaginary line…. so it’s inevitable gaming will get involved.”
Hoban speculated on what form casinos getting involved in the pot business might take.
“What do consumers want? From a consumer standpoint, that’s a work in progress right now,” he said.
“Because traditional cannabis consumers are stuck in their ways, right? They’re perfectly fine with standing in the alley between the Cosmo and the (Jockey) Club and smoking a joint before they walk in. That doesn’t affront anybody. If you provided a venue within the casinos, would that keep people in the casinos and accordingly make the casino more money?”
Even if it could be conclusively proved weed sales or consumption would boost gambling revenues as well as direct sales, for the operator making the first moves, it’s a risky business.
“I talk to the operators all the time,” Segerblom said. “They have room to set up to do this. They’re all ready to go. They’re just waiting for the first person to jump in.“
David is an online casino expert who specializes in online slots and boasts over 10 years experience writing about iGaming. He has written for a wide range of notable publications, including eSports Insider and WordPlay Magazine.
David graduated Derby University with a BA Degree in English Literature and Creative Writing.
