Can gaming, cannabis co-exist? Nevada policy experts and leaders explore options

Can the major industries of gaming and cannabis ever co-exist in Nevada? Policy experts, industry insiders and local leaders are discussing the possibilities within state law, all to give tourists and locals more consumer options.

UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute and the UNLV International Gaming Institute recently held a panel on federal regulations, state and local laws, and interest from industry leaders in gaming and cannabis.

Chair Tick Segerblom weighed in on the panel, and tells FOX5, some resort owners are looking ahead.

“They can see the synergy, especially with food and entertainment,” Segerblom said.

“You’ll start to see more and more conversations about ways these two industries could merge,” said Riana Durrett of the UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute, launched in 2023, helping government and medicine navigate the legal new frontier of cannabis regulations.

It would take major federal changes until Nevada could see a distant scenario: a cannabis dispensary or a lounge in a casino. Cannabis is still currently a Schedule I substance, with federal leaders moving towards a Schedule III classification. Federal banking laws also prohibit cannabis sales and transactions, which pose barriers for federally-regulated casinos.

“Attitudes have wildly changed in the last 10 years,” said Durrett. Since Nevada legalized recreational marijuana in 2017, numerous states have followed.

“We’re pretty far off from that point where we will see a consumption lounge or dispensary in a casino, but that is why I think it’s an interesting conversation. There are more opportunities out there that don’t involve going straight for a consumption lounge in a casino,” Durett said, noting options for changes in state and local laws that could amount to smaller steps to provide consumers more access.

One of the easier changes? Laws or regulations on cannabis deliveries.

“I think the ones that are the most subject to further discussion are ones like the prohibition on legal delivery to the strip corridor. There could be legal delivery to-non gaming establishments on the Strip corridor, and that wouldn’t put the gaming establishments in violation of federal law,” Durett said.

State regulations also prohibit cannabis delivery beyond private residences. “I do think that’s going to be looked at, this legislative session,” Durett said, and tells FOX5, a state lawmaker is looking into policy changes.

Any changes would start to chip at a decade of state and local restrictions.

In 2014, the Gaming Control Board warned licensees against participation in the cannabis industry. In 2017 and 2018, gaming regulators confirmed and expanded prohibitions, Durett said.

In 2017, Clark county prohibited legal delivery to the Strip.

In 2019, the Legislature imposed a 1,500 foot separation between gaming and cannabis establishments.

2024 ushered in a new era: legal cannabis lounges.

Durett tells FOX5 that policymakers could explore lessening regulations there, such as whether gaming could be in a consumption lounge off the Strip.

The next step: surveying casino leaders to see their interest in cannabis, if federal restrictions were lifted.

Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.