Experts across gaming, cannabis policy, and state government say expanding access to legal, regulated cannabis in Las Vegas could help bolster tourism and support the broader gaming industry, particularly as visitation trends soften and competition for consumer spending intensifies.

Saying Las Vegas needs to use every tool it can to attract tourists and offer experiences they want during a downturn in visitation, the CEO of Fifth Street Gaming continued his push for a marriage between the casino and cannabis industries.

Saying Las Vegas needs to use every tool it can to attract tourists and offer experiences they want during a downturn in visitation, the CEO of Fifth Street Gaming continued his push for a marriage between the casino and cannabis industries.

In a city known for saying “yes,” Las Vegas may be losing tourists over one big “no” — cannabis inside casinos. Researchers examining Nevada’s gaming and cannabis industries found that the long-standing separation between the two could be limiting tourism, especially as visitor preferences continue to shift toward experience-driven travel.

A new research report on cannabis and the gaming industry outlined Friday afternoon in Las Vegas revealed that the inability of visitors to access it at casinos hurts the tourism industry and called for a relaxation of state standards. The University of Nevada Las Vegas Cannabis Policy Institute and International Gaming Institute’s 3rd Annual Gaming & Cannabis Policy Discussion included a presentation by Robin Goldstein, Cannabis Economics Group Director at UC Davis in California. He detailed the cannabis and gaming research report, “The 1,500-Foot Wall: Barriers between Cannabis and Gaming in Nevada and the Potential for Integration.”

Casino companies should be allowed to offer marijuana on their premises, although doing so would require a change in state gaming regulations and laws, some experts argued on Friday. During the third annual Cannabis and Gaming policy discussion — jointly sponsored by the UNLV International Gaming Institute and the Cannabis Policy Institute — state lawmakers and gaming industry experts discussed changes to current state policy.

Younger gamblers prefer electronic products to traditional ones but were not quick to embrace prediction markets when they debuted, if Nevada college students are any indication. These are among the more interesting findings of a study conducted by University of Nevada Las Vegas researchers at the International Gaming Institute.

There are so many things to think about when you’re giving your teenager his or her first phone. Gambling is nearing the top of the list.

More than 80% of businesses in the space have embraced generative AI to support tasks like content creation and gathering customer insights, according to a new study by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ International Gaming Institute AI Research Hub in collaboration with audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG.

On this episode of Casino Reports’ weekly gaming-biz podcast, we welcome the UNLV International Gaming Institute’s Brett Abarbanel and Kasra Ghaharian for a discussion around their recently released report The State of AI in Gaming in 2026, what sectors of the industry are proactively adopting AI, and what sectors are lagging behind.

On this episode of Casino Reports’ weekly gaming-biz podcast, we welcome the UNLV International Gaming Institute’s Brett Abarbanel and Kasra Ghaharian for a discussion around their recently released report The State of AI in Gaming in 2026, what sectors of the industry are proactively adopting AI, and what sectors are lagging behind.

Hosted by the UNLV International Gaming Institute, the event will bring together researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals to examine developments in gambling, gaming, and risk behavior.