Nevada Gaming Control Board reports $1.2 billion in FY24 gaming taxes, outlines fee structure and collection practices

The Nevada Gaming Control Board told the Assembly Committee on Revenue that it collected about $1.2 billion in gaming taxes and fees in fiscal year 2024 and detailed how the state’s major gaming taxes and license fees are structured.

The board’s presentation to the committee described the largest revenue categories, how fees are assessed on machines and operators, and the board’s audit and enforcement roles that support collections and licensing oversight.

The board said percentage fees based on gross gaming revenue are the largest single category, with most gross gaming revenue taxed in the third tier at a 6.75% rate. "For fiscal year 24, the state collected over $1,200,000,000 in gaming taxes and fees," Sebastian Ross, the board’s senior policy counsel, told the committee. Ross also explained that the live entertainment tax is jointly administered by the board and the Department of Taxation depending on venue.

Kirk Hendrick, chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, described the board’s role in day-to-day regulation and collections and summarized the agency organization that supports those duties. The board has six divisions: administration, audit, enforcement, investigations, tax and license, and technology. Hendrick said the audit division conducts cyclical audits of larger “group 1” licensees and the tax and license division audits smaller “group 2” licensees and restricted locations.

Chan Leighton Sabath, identified as chief of the tax and license division, told the committee that group 2 licensees are annual operators with gross gaming revenue of about $8,000,000 or less and that they are audited on roughly a 2½- to 3-year cycle. He said group 2 licensees have fewer internal-audit and external-audit requirements than larger operators.

The board described several recurring charges and distributions: a per-slot annual slot tax of $250 per machine; a quarterly per-machine fee of $20 for nonrestricted licensees; a games fee that is split among Nevada’s 17 counties; and an advanced license fee for new operations equal to three times the percentage fee for the first month. The board said the first $5,000,000 of annual slot-tax receipts go to the capital construction fund for higher education, one-fifth of the remainder goes to a special capital construction fund for higher education, and the balance is deposited to the state-distributed school account.

The board also described other collections: where nonrestricted licensees hold unredeemed wagering vouchers, 75% of the voucher value must be remitted quarterly to the state; interactive gaming licenses generate three separate fee categories; and equipment manufacturers, device distributors and slot operators pay annual fees distinct from casino licensees.

During questions from committee members, Hendrick said the definition of a gaming device is long-standing: machines with multiple selectable games are counted as a single device for fee and tax purposes. He also described the agency’s collection record and enforcement posture: "We actually, for last fiscal year, collected 99.999998%," Hendrick said, adding that failure to remit taxes can jeopardize licensing and future suitability for a privileged Nevada license.

Committee members pressed the board on compacted tribal gaming revenue and said they had not seen revenue components in tribal compacts; Chan Leighton Sabath replied that compacts generally do not include state revenue components, though one compact contains an intergovernmental agreement covering cost recoupment at roughly 1% of gross gaming or the cost amount, whichever is larger.

The board closed its overview by answering questions about audit cycles, restricted locations (defined in presentation as sites with 15 or fewer slot machines), and the board’s technology division role in approving gaming devices and working with independent testing labs.

The committee followed the presentation with a bill hearing on Assembly Bill 11.