The Gaming Lawyer Forum

By Harris Hagan

At last there has been a development in relation to the new casinos promised by the Gambling Act 2005 (“the 2005 Act”), passed almost three years ago.

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COLORADO IAGA ATTORNEYS UNDERWRITE PROBLEM GAMBLING CONFERENCE

A September 15, 2006 Conference on Problem Gambling hosted by the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado and the Problem Gambling Treatment and Research Center of the College of Education of the University of Denver has been entirely underwritten financially by Colorado’s IAGA membership. The sponsoring attorneys are: Robert Dill of Dill, Dill, Carr, Stonbraker and Hutchings; Mark Grueskin of Isaacson and Rosenbaum; Manual Martinez of Holme, Roberts and Owens; Roger Morris, Attorney at Law; Richard Nathan of Robinson, Waters and O’Dorisio; and John Tipton, Attorney at Law.

Colorado’s IAGA members undertook the sponsorship in recognition of the critical role that problem gaming education plays in the overall scheme of a successful and responsible gaming industry.

BYBEE SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

The International Association of Gaming Attorneys proudly announces the initial recipients of the Shannon L. Bybee awards for legal scholarship. The awards are sponsored by IAGA in memory of Mr. Bybee, one of the earliest, pre-eminent legal experts in all aspects of the gaming industry. Mr. Bybee’s experience included law enforcement, service as a regulator, private law practice, in-house legal and operational positions, consulting, compliance committees, and teaching in the university setting. He was dedicated to the integrity of the gaming regulatory process and was a strong advocate to raise the standards of the gaming bar. His battle through his last illness reflected the same character that he brought to his personal and professional career, and IAGA honors this giant of a man through the Bybee awards.

Competition for the Bybee awards is open to law students taking a gaming law course as part of their law school curriculum. Papers must be certified by a gaming law instructor as the best paper produced in a gaming law course for a given academic term. The author(s) of each winning submission will receive $1,000 at the IAGA/IAGR 2006 conference in Barcelona, based on papers prepared and submitted for legal scholarship during the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 academic years.

IAGA appointed a task force to evaluate submitted papers, based on six criteria submitted to the IAGA Trustees: quality of presentation; quality of footnoting; depth of research; novelty or importance of subject matter; value to the gaming law practitioner or gaming control official; and value to the study of gaming law. The IAGA-appointed task force was chaired by Peter Bernhard and included Morden Lazarus, Richard Nathan, and Greg Giordano, who volunteered their time and expertise to review and rank the submitted papers. IAGA and the task force wish to thank Bob Faiss for his input and assistance in developing the criteria and structure for the establishment of the Bybee legal scholarship awards program.

Based on the task force’s review, IAGA announces the first Bybee award recipients:

• Video gambling in Brazil: Wax your boards! Wave comin’!, by Sebastién Gariépy, certified by Professor I. Nelson Rose as the best paper from his Fall 2005 Gaming Law Seminar at Whittier Law School; and

• The Clash of the Sovereign: Allocation of Power to Regulate Gaming on Tribal Lands, by Jeremy Fancher, certified by Professor I. Nelson Rose as the best paper from his Fall 2004 Gaming Law Seminar at Whittier Law School.

The winning papers are expected to be published in the next issue of IAGA’s “Gaming Lawyer” electronic newsletter. IAGA and the task force congratulate the winners and thank all who submitted papers for consideration for the initial Bybee awards. With the assistance of IAGA’s Trustees and the help of Bob Faiss, we expect to see many more high-quality works of legal scholarship in future Bybee award competitions.

MESSAGE FROM IAGR CHAIR

David Ford

It is hard to believe that we have so few months left until our conference in Barcelona!

The IAGR Steering Committee met in London in March to plan for the conference. That meeting was a great success and I take that as a good omen for Barcelona. The IAGR program will cover a wide range of regulatory issues such as internet gambling, compliance and ethics, responsible gambling, emerging issues in casinos, gaming outside casinos and systems and technology.

The Committee has deliberately structured the program to maximize the opportunity for regulators to meet one another and exchange experiences and ideas, as well as gain information from speakers at the panel sessions.

We are also keen to maximize the opportunity for regulators to exchange views with IAGA members, both in formal sessions and through the more informal portions of the program.

While I was not able to visit Barcelona with Dan McDaniel and Kerry Koenig, Terry Stone was fortunately able to participate in the site visit on behalf of the Steering Committee and his reports confirm our expectations that the location and arrangements will set the scene for a memorable conference. As anyone who has visited Barcelona would know only too well, it is a fascinating city with a rich history and cultural tradition and I am sure it will provide a great backdrop for our conference.

I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible.David Ford

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Dan M. McDaniel, Jr.

Message from the
Executive Director
“A Conference Update”

Kerry Koenig
Executive Director
IAGA

Barcelona, the chic Catalan capital, with its wide boulevards and striking architecture, will be our host for the 2006 IAGA / IAGR International Gaming Law Conference. A prosperous, energetic and fun-loving city, the special Barcelona style and design are evident everywhere. This city is cosmopolitan and undeniably modern, yet heartily embraces its rich culture and tradition. Much of its charm is found in the combination of its old Roman ruins, gothic buildings and sunny stone squares, international eateries and bold modern architecture.

A renovation of Barcelona began in the early 1990s in preparation for the 1992 Olympic Games. When Barcelona was our conference venue in 1994, it was fresh from this renovation. The modern architects had been rediscovered and the eccentric genius, Antoni Gaudi had become the icon for the city. The seafront was revived as a busy urban entertainment area with new beaches and promenades. This year we’ll experience this rejuvenation first hand with the main conference location at the Port Olympic. The incomparable Hotel Arts featuring Frank Gehry’s “Fish” sculpture, will serve as our main location, while the trendy Hotel Icaria will provide a moderately priced alternative. All meeting sessions for both IAGA and IAGR members will be held at the Hotel Arts.

This year’s program will feature sessions on Asian gaming, real estate valuations as they pertain to new and existing properties, internet gaming with a special focus on the case for and against US legalization, and others. Registration materials have been mailed and are also available on our website at www.theiaga.org. If you have any questions or require special assistance with the registration process, please contact me. We look forward to seeing you in Barcelona!

Kerry Koenig
Executive Director
IAGA
4505 South Maryland Parkway
Box 6013
Las Vegas, Nevada 89154
702.895.5860 / 702.895.5775
iaga@cox.net
www.theiaga.org