20
CasinoCity’s
PocketGamingDirectory
CASINO&GAMINGVENDORLICENSINGGUIDE
Casino&GamingVendorLicensing
Overview
ByRegulatoryManagementCounselors,P.C.
Companies that have never done business
with casinos or businesses that are looking
toexpand their business tonewgeographic
areas may be surprised to learn that they
must often meet strict and complicated
“licensing”requirements to legallysellgoods
or services to a casino. A governmental
body having jurisdiction over regulating
the casino (i.e., the country, state, province,
band or tribe) normally grants these
licenses. Usually, a “gaming control board”
or “gaming commission” is appointed by
the governmental body to handle the
complicated steps involved in granting
licenses.
The vendor licensing section of the
CasinoVendors.comwebsiteincludesaglobal
directory of both regulatory agencies and
gaming licensing and compliance advisors.
In addition, you will find the Licensing by
Jurisdiction section of the website, which
is summarized on the following pages, very
helpful as it provides a broad look at the
various licensing requirements andongoing
reporting obligations for suppliers/vendors
working with casinos located in various
jurisdictions offering commercial and tribal
casino gaming. This section also includes
links to detailed jurisdictional analyses
summarizing the licensing and reporting
obligations for individual jurisdictions.
The systemsof supplier licensingareusedas
amethod to ensure that unsuitable parties
do not infiltrate the gaming industry and
impact its integrity. Companies wishing to
conduct businesswith casinos inmore than
one jurisdiction face unique challenges
because the requirements varywidely from
state to state. Inmost jurisdictions, a vendor
can expect to be closely scrutinized to
ensure that its owners and key employees
donothavecriminal historiesaswell as to
ensure the financial viability of thebusiness
applying for a license. Gaming control
authorities typically conduct thorough and
extensivebackground investigations.
All gaming jurisdictions, however, have
unique and varying approaches to
regulating supplier activity. For example,
almost every state requires a manufacturer
of items specifically for gaming activity to
be licensed and to undergo a suitability
determination. Many states, however, also
require manufacturers or suppliers of non-
gaming related goods or services to also
receivea licensebeforeconductingbusiness
with a gaming facility. In addition, some
jurisdictions require suppliers meeting
certain dollar thresholds of business with
casinos, regardless of theproduct or service,
tobecome licensedwith the stateagency.
Thus, even businesses that are supplying
goods or services totally unrelated to the
industry (e.g., carpet suppliers) may need
to take the necessary steps to get licensed.
Because of the disparity between licensing
andotherregulatoryrequirements,anumber
of theU.S. gaming regulatory agencies (e.g.,
New Jersey and Nevada) are in the process
of reviewing their regulations in order to
ensure that they are operating effectively
andefficiently inorder relieve the industryof
unnecessary regulatory burdens, as well to
keepupwith technological advancements.
Any business seeking to enter into a new
market should conduct a jurisdictional
“License Analysis” to verify the licensing
requirements of a particular jurisdiction.
Most jurisdictions have license applications
to be completed and filedwith the gaming
control authorities. In many cases, the
owners and employees of the business
seeking licensure will need individual
