In The News: Division of Research

The Global Gaming Expo is underway at the Venetian Expo Center, bringing manufacturers and developers together to showcase the latest gaming technology—including a growing, but still evolving, role for artificial intelligence in casinos and hospitality.
John “Duffy” Conley was just 22 in 1985 and not yet known as the kingpin of video gambling in western Pennsylvania with over 4,000 illegal video poker machines.

Kalshi’s dicey relationship with Native American casinos went south after CEO Tarek Mansour held unsuccessful talks to mend differences with tribal leaders – resulting in a flurry of lawsuits that could pose existential threat to the prediction market giant’s business, The Post has learned.
I'm not spending a Wednesday evening in June watching Game 4 of the NBA Finals on the big screen TV in my friend's family room because I'm a fan of the New York Knicks or San Antonio Spurs. I’m here because I placed my first-ever bet with an online sportsbook today.
Speaking exclusively to SiGMA News, Dr. Bo Bernhard, professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas’s hospitality and gaming program, frames this transformation as part of the “Global Fun Economy”, a sector that now accounts for one in every seven dollars spent worldwide.

Adding money to your bar-top slot machines could become easier with a new contactless, cashless system. Officials with UNLV’s International Gaming Institute say this system will also capture data, helping researchers understand gamblers' habits.

The convenience of Apple Pay, enjoyed by iPhone users at stores and online, is being used on a trial basis on bar-top slot machines at several Station Casinos properties, including Durango and Wildfire Anthem.
Researcher from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Discusses the State of AI in Gaming at America’s Largest AI Conference.
A UNLV study found streamers and vloggers primarily focus on betting strategy and game mechanics, while responsible gambling messages remain uncommon despite being linked to higher audience engagement.

The project leans into the city’s tradition of bold, themed architecture — joining a landscape that already includes a pyramid, a sphere, an Eiffel Tower, a castle, an 1,100-foot tower and a giant blue Gibson Les Paul guitar built where a volcano once stood.

The federal government rescheduled medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III, but what will that ultimately mean for the future of Nevada’s cannabis industry and could full federal legalization be on the horizon?
AI is one of the main iGaming industry trends in 2026, but adoption is uneven. A report published by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) International Gaming Institute and KPMG found that 81.5% of gambling companies use generative AI, 66.7% use conversational AI, and 60.5% use predictive AI (2026).