Nevada board advances broad AML overhaul, cloud rules and a 314(b) pilot for information sharing

The Nevada Gaming Control Board moved Feb. 11 to forward a sweeping set of regulatory changes aimed at strengthening anti‑money‑laundering controls in the state’s gaming industry. The package, which the board recommended for adoption by the Nevada Gaming Commission, includes amendments to Regulations 1, 5, 7 and 25 and new administrative steps intended to raise the role and accountability of compliance personnel.

Board chair Dreitzler said the changes were born of months of work with licensees, the Attorney General’s office and Board staff. “We need clearer responsibilities, better information sharing and practical ways for licensees to manage cloud services while protecting Nevada’s regulatory standards,” Dreitzler said during the 3 p.m. regulatory workshop. Chief Jeremy Eberwein of the Board’s Technology Division explained that the proposed cloud rules remove an impractical registration requirement for cloud providers while preserving regulatory oversight of hosting centers and onboarding checks for cloud services.

The AML measures include several new requirements: licensees must identify a person with primary responsibility for AML (to be registered or found suitable), compliance officers must be licensed or approved, and marketing/player‑development employees who interact with patrons in ways that affect AML risk must be submitted for administrative review as part of compliance plans. A proposed rule will require licensees to notify the Board within 10 business days if a gaming employee is separated for intentional or willful AML violations; staff said the change is meant to prevent terminated individuals from quickly reappearing at other properties without board review.

Industry participants, including representatives of MGM Resorts, Station Casinos and Amazon Web Services, worked with the Board on the language. AWS counsel Erica Okerberg told the Board that the cloud changes will let licensees use mainstream cloud services while keeping security controls in place. Station Casinos AML officer Nick Langenfeld proposed narrow edits to clarify that government‑issued payments or business checks payable to a patron should be excluded from the new prohibitions on third‑party funding; the Board accepted that clarification.

In tandem with the rulemaking, the Board and participating licensees have launched a voluntary 314(b) information‑sharing pilot to exchange five standardized questions about suspicious patrons across properties. Chair Dreitzler said the pilot began in February and will run for months, with a mid‑year review; if the pilot proves helpful it could be made mandatory. “Early signs show more consistent, useful sharing,” he said.

Board members voted to send the regulation drafts to the Gaming Commission. Most changes were proposed to become effective upon adoption; one core business‑funding prohibition (Reg. 5.047) was set to become effective six months after adoption to give licensees time to modify payment systems. Independent‑agent rules in Regulation 25 will become effective 120 days after adoption to allow industry operational changes, the board said.

The Board said it will publish updated application instructions, an independent‑agent AML acknowledgment form and training materials online. The materials and the pilot will be reviewed during the summer commission cycle.

The Board’s recommendation moves the package forward to the Nevada Gaming Commission, which will consider formal adoption and final effective dates.