Gaming Control Board tells revenue panel Nevada collected about $1.2 billion in gaming taxes and fees in FY24

CARSON CITY — Kirk Hendrick, chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, and board policy staff told the Assembly Committee on Revenue that the board collected more than $1.2 billion in gaming taxes and fees in fiscal year 2024 and reviewed how those revenues are generated and distributed.

"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 during a presentation that ran through the board’s organizational divisions and the tax and fee categories the board administers.

The presentation outlined Nevada’s three-part regulatory framework: the board (daily regulation and enforcement), the Nevada Gaming Commission (policy, discipline and oversight) and the Gaming Policy Committee (a governor‑convened advisory body with legislative, tribal, industry and academic representation). Hendrick described the board’s six divisions and their responsibilities, including audit, enforcement, investigations, tax and license, technology and administration.

Ross and other board staff detailed major revenue categories. The largest single source was percentage fees assessed on monthly gross gaming revenue for nonrestricted licensees (a three‑tier structure with most revenue taxed at a 6.75% rate in the top tier), according to the board’s slides. Other collections discussed included the live entertainment tax (LET), annual slot tax, per‑quarter machine fees and various license and annual fees for noncasino industry participants such as equipment manufacturers and device distributors.

The board gave specific figures and distributions for the annual slot tax. The board said the first $5,000,000 of annual slot tax receipts are deposited into the Capital Construction Fund for higher education; then one‑fifth of the remainder goes to the Special Capital Construction Fund for higher education; the balance is deposited into the State Distributive School Account.

Board staff described license groupings used for auditing and oversight. "Group 1" licensees are those with gross gaming revenue of about $8,000,000 or more per year; group 2 licensees have gross gaming revenue of about $8,000,000 or less and are on a longer audit cycle. Chan Leighton Sabath, chief of the board’s tax and license division, told the committee group 2 licensees do not need internal audit departments or external auditors and typically fall on a 2.5– to 3‑year audit cycle.

Committee members asked several operational questions. Chair Backus asked whether a single machine that offers multiple games is treated as one device for tax purposes; Hendrick replied, "the definition of a gaming device has been the same for many years and it's one device and then the tax is based on the device." Members also asked about collection rates and enforcement. Hendrick said the board’s collection performance is strong and noted the board’s reported collection rate for the last fiscal year: "we actually, for last fiscal year, collected 99.999998%."

The board also addressed tribal gaming compacts. Sabath said most tribal compacts do not include a state revenue share; in one compact the board described an intergovernmental arrangement to recoup costs, reporting it as either 1% of gross gaming or the agency’s cost, whichever is larger.

The presentation concluded with the board summarizing interactive/online gaming fees and other smaller revenue streams, and staff remained to answer questions from committee members.

The committee did not take formal action on the presentation. The board’s slides and comments were presented during the public hearing portion of the Assembly Committee on Revenue meeting.