Since the advent of regulated sports betting, gaming regulators have been re-evaluating their licensing frameworks and asking whether or not everyone who should have a gaming license does have a gaming license. Earlier this week the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) met to discuss whether or not sports data providers are one of those actors who needs a Nevada gaming license.
Sports data providers have played a major role in sussing out criminal activity in the sports betting world and are an important link in the chain holding that vertical together. Board Chairman Kirk Hendrick led the discussion by asking whether or not the NGCB knew enough about the companies that basically act as the gaming industry’s first line of defense against fraud.
Hendrick and the other Board members made it clear that their focus is on dedicated data providers and not on professional sports leagues (who usually provide the same data in one form or another).
Several NGCB members pointed out that data providers are “are a little closer to the actual event” and may require more scrutiny than they currently receive in Nevada. Several other states, including New Jersey, currently license sports data providers.
Jim Barbee, chief of the board’s technology division argued that a new licensing category would increase transparency. “It also gives us the authority and tools on the back end that, should something go wrong, we can work directly with those third parties. As it stands now, our visibility stops at the information service,” he said in comments reported on by SBC Americas.
Board member George Assad was skeptical of the concept and observed that the NGCB could already obtain the sort of information they would want from sports data companies from the casinos themselves.
No action was taken as a result of the meeting, though it’s likely that the subject will come up again as regulated sports betting continues to dominate the US gaming industry.