Winter Issue, 2022

Greetings from Iowa! The weather has turned colder here and we are shoveling out from the snow. This time of year is always a busy one for me. I am in the middle of our legislative session that started in January. There are lots of gaming bills this year including iGaming, cashless wagering, how to spend the sports betting taxes the state has collected and making casinos smoke free.

I have started my second year as NAGRA president and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish in the last year. In June NAGRA had a successful annual conference using a hybrid program! I want to thank all of you who participated in person or virtually. I know I learned a lot from our presenters and I hope you did too. I enjoyed networking with many of you who were in attendance in Louisville. The Conference Planning Committee is already well into planning for the 2022 annual conference which will be held June 6-9 in Portland, ME at the Westin Harborview. We hope you will be able to join us!

It is due to our members that NAGRA is the valuable association that it is! Thank you to those who participate in our interest group calls, volunteer on our committees and attend our webinars and annual conference! I would especially like to thank those who volunteer their time to serve on the NAGRA Board of Directors! NAGRA wouldn’t be what it is without you!

Sincerely, 

Sara ThroenerNAGRA President

2022 NAGRA ANNUAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION CONFERENCE

By Jennifer LaMont, Vice President & Conference Chair

Hello! By now you’ve likely received a survey from NAGRA asking about travel and conference attendance.  

The survey is open until the end of February; please respond as this will help us to determine the best ways to offer conference information and allow us to plan appropriately for in-person vs. virtual attendance and outside activities.  

We may add additional in-depth trainings on Monday June 6th, depending on attendee interest- this will be something new, so your response to the survey is important for our planning.  

We hope you are getting as excited for a trip to Portland Maine as we are- so far 2022 is flying and the week of June 6th will be here before you know it!  

We are hard at work planning interesting and relevant agenda panels and presentations such as the illegal pull-tab games operating on Facebook (see related article in this newsletter).  

We are also planning fun activities to give you a flavor of the city we are visiting- to include a Lobster bake and a Fun Run.

Hope to see everyone in June!

 

Washington State Gambling Commission Shuts Down Online Pull-Tab Games

Posted on:  December 07, 2021

An investigation by Special Agents with the Washington State Gambling Commission has shut down illegal pull-tab games operating on Facebook. 

The agency received a tip about the game that claimed a Sedro Woolley woman was running the operation. A Special Agent assigned to the case was able to observe the woman selling pull-tabs during three different “live” events – 6/7/2021, 6/21/2021, and 6/28/2021. She used a $2 pull-tab game with the name of, “Raise the Ante.” The agent could see the name of the pull-tab manufacturer was American Games, a company that holds a current manufacturer license with the WSGC.  

During these “live” events, people could watch live while she opened the tabs. The players chatted via text with the woman who responded verbally. The players would state how many tabs they wanted to buy and then they paid through online wallets Venmo or Cash App. The players would state where they sent the money, and the woman would then check her phone to verify that she received the money. Players could also have their names placed on a spinning wheel for additional pull-tabs for every $100 they spent.  

When the agent contacted the woman, she admitted her participation.  Further investigation revealed an additional suspect in Mount Vernon and one in Ferndale. All the participants admitted taking part. 

The suspects identified a woman in Florida as the retail seller of the pull-tabs. That information was also confirmed by Shed Capital, a New Jersey based distributor.   
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement began in investigation into the woman identified as the retail seller of the pull-tabs.

The suspects in Washington state agreed to shut down the illegal games. No criminal charges were filed because they ceased the illegal activity and cooperated with the Gambling Commission and its investigation.  

The investigation shut down three private groups on Facebook that were encouraging illegal gambling, profiting from it and teaching people how to do it. At least 12,000 members in the three groups combined were participating from all over the United States.

Michigan Gaming Control Board and Liquor Control Commission partner to educate public, remove unregulated machines used for illegal gaming

Contact: Mary Kay Bean 313-456-1344

Detroit, January 13, 2022 - The Michigan Gaming Control Board and Michigan Liquor Control Commission will conduct a statewide public education and enforcement initiative in 2022 to encourage businesses to remove unregulated machines used for illegal gaming.

"Illegal gambling can lead to other, more serious crimes that compromise safety in Michigan communities," said Henry Williams, MGCB executive director. "Citizens who use these unregulated machines also have little recourse if they feel cheated. They can't file a formal dispute with an unregulated operator and ask our agency to review the outcome as they can when participating in licensed, legal gaming."

Working together, the two state agencies hope better knowledge about illegal gambling coupled with heightened awareness of its consequences will curb illegal gambling in Michigan.

Read full article…


Get Involved!

We still need individuals to participate on the Membership Committee and the IGSA (International Gaming Standards Association) working groups. We encourage any current NAGRA member to participate. You do not have to be a board member to serve on these committees/working groups!

If you would like more information on IGSA please watch this webinar

Contact sara.throener@dia.iowa.gov or michelle@nagra.org if you can give us some of your time and input. Thank you!


Current Active NAGRA Committees

Conference Planning Committee – Chair, Jennifer LaMont

Membership Committee – Chair, Vacant

Webinar Committee – Chair, Michael Menefee

Excellence in Gaming Award Committee – Chair, Tom Mungham

Pull Tabs and Bingo Standards Committee – Chair, Michael Menefee

NAGRA/IGSA Working Groups


Notification Processes


Reporting Requirement

 If you would like more information on IGSA please watch this webinar

NAGRA Board of Directors

Sara Throener, President | Iowa Dept. of Inspections & Appeals

Jennifer LaMont, Vice President | Washington Gambling Commission

Michael Menefee, Past President | Virginia Dept. of Ag & Consumer Services. Office of Charitable and Reg Programs

Gary Danger, Treasurer | Minnesota Gambling Control Board

Tom Mungham, Secretary | Alcohol & Gaming Commission of Ontario

Roger Pinson, Western Regional Director | Colorado Division of Gaming

Joan Scott, Eastern Regional Director | Virginia Dept. of Ag & Consumer Services

Amanda Creasy, Canadian Regional Director | Liquor, Gaming & Cannibis Authority of Manitoba

Carolyn Kerr, Midwest Regional Director | Missouri Gaming Commission

Meghan Frye, Indian Country Director | Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Gaming Commission


NAGRA Discussion Forums

NAGRA provides a platform for knowledge sharing, discussion and resource/document repository on the Members Only Section of their webpage. If you are a current member, make sure to take advantage of this member benefit! 

Instructions on how to utilize the Discussion Forums:

Go to www.nagra.org, log into your membership account, navigate to the Members Only tab, click Discussion Forums, click the Interest Group, and create a new topic for discussion. You can also view topics that have already been posted and add input, provide answers, etc. You can upload documents, materials or provide links to resources. 

Make sure to click on the Subscribe to topic icon on the page. This will ensure you receive an email notification when a response has been provided or a new topic has been started in that forum.

GLI Regulators Roundtable

March 16-17 | The Luxor | Las Vegas. 

Keynote Speaker: Nate Sliver of www.fivethirtyeight.com. Nate is one of the world’s most renowned experts on statistics and probability, specifically as it relates to various aspects of the gaming industry. 

As a reminder, this event is free to attend and we have negotiated a room rate of just $90 (including taxes and resort fees).  We will be closely following all CDC safety precautions in place at the time of the event (hopefully we will be through the worst of this by then).  We are expecting our largest crowd of regulators ever!

You can find registration and hotel information at 2022 Regulators Roundtable - Gaming Labs International.  


NAGRA Webinars  

The NAGRA Interest Groups coordinate with the Webinar Committee to determine webinar topics and speakers throughout the year. As a member benefit, these webinars are offered to current NAGRA members free of charge.

NAGRA collaborates with industry partners such as GLI, GeoComply, SBC, IGSA and GREO to facilitate and deliver the webinars.

Have an idea for a webinar topic? Contact michelle@nagra.org


Watch For The Next Webinar Coming In March!

NAGRA's Newsletter provides an outlet to talk about regulatory matters and industry issues. 

Send us your stories, news, articles, etc. so we can get them noticed and connect the regulatory community and industry stakeholders with issues and events around the country.

We need your content to help provoke thinking and conversation and help inform regulatory policy and practice.

Contact us at michelle@nagra.org to share your story.

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