Gaming board seeks investigators, compliance staff and PIO as regulation workload grows

The Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Nevada Gaming Commission told a joint budget committee they seek a series of staff and operating enhancements aimed at restoring investigative capacity, improving oversight of restricted licensees, bolstering communications and modernizing IT services.

Kirk Hendrick, chairman of the Gaming Control Board, and division chiefs outlined multiple decision units the board proposed for the upcoming biennium. Highlights included a request to restore eight positions in the investigations division (decision unit E650) to reduce case loads and create capacity for special investigations; a general fund‑funded compliance team of six positions (E226) focused on the 2,000 restricted licensees (small operators such as convenience stores and taverns) to conduct compliance reviews on a 2–3 year cycle; and two administrative positions (E300) — a public information officer and an administrative services officer — to centralize public communications and the board’s fiscal monitoring.

Chiefs described operational impacts: investigations staffing reductions over time had left restricted licensee oversight and some key employee vetting slower than desired, and restricted license site visits historically took multiple years to cycle. Tax and license staff said a compliance team would focus on bankroll and record requirements, ownership transfers and educating small operators before minor compliance issues become larger problems. Board staff estimated roughly half of restricted licensees are higher‑risk and proposed one supervisor plus three agents in Southern Nevada and two positions covering northern/rural areas to maintain an audit cycle of about 2.5 years.

The board also listed training and travel enhancements to support statewide auditing, prosecution and regulatory functions (E301, E304), an OCIO migration of several IT services for improved cyber security and application availability (decision units E2720 and E722), and a one‑shot replacement of computer hardware/software (E710) with a total cost cited at about $953,000. Staff said the board was deemed ineligible to continue participation in a federal forfeiture program at the beginning of the fiscal year and that some enforcement expenses previously funded by forfeiture proceeds transitioned to the general fund (decision unit E276).

Rebecca Garcia, deputy chief of administration, detailed intended uses for existing federal forfeiture funds the board still holds and said the board intends to expend remaining forfeiture funds before the federal deadline (June 30, 2026) on items such as security systems for a Reno building, surveillance equipment, analytical software, training, recruiting and officer wellness initiatives.

On the commission side, Chair Jennifer Tagliotti requested a modest training appropriation (E226) — $15,336 per fiscal year — and an Administrative Assistant 3 position for the commission to handle meeting materials and administrative tasks so the senior research specialist may focus on policy work. The commission staff said a backlog of regulation archiving and recordkeeping dating back several years would be cleared with added administrative support.

Gaming board and commission staff answered committee questions about backlog levels and travel needs, and said the enhancements aim to restore core regulatory services without disrupting enforcement. Chair Hendrick emphasized the agency’s experience with cyber incidents and told the committee that migrating certain IT services to OCIO would improve security posture and availability.