A record number of legislators from a record number of states will attend the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States Winter Meeting, January 4-6 in New Orleans. NCLGS will welcome 42 legislators – and counting – from 18 states during its three-day conference.

Registration for the NCLGS Winter Meeting is open to the public at http://www.nclgs.org/meetings.html. Although the room block at host Harrah’s New Orleans is sold out, numerous nearby hotel options are posted on the conference website.

“After setting the all-time record for attendance at our conference this past summer, I am happy to see that we already have even more legislators confirmed to attend our Winter Meeting in New Orleans,” said NCLGS William P. Coley II, a Senator from Ohio. “These are the legislators who will be determining gaming policy in their respective states throughout the country, and we invite everyone who is interested in great public policy to join us in New Orleans.”

More than 200 attendees are expected to attend the three-day NCLGS Winter Meeting. The conference agenda includes:

• Keynote Luncheon Address from former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, whose arguments before the Supreme Court resulted in overturning the federal prohibition on sports betting
• Six legislative committee sessions: Casinos, Emerging Forms of Gaming, Lotteries, Pari-Mutuels, Sports Betting/iGaming, and State-Federal Relations
• The Big Picture: Focus on Freshman Class of Legislators – an introduction to gaming
• Two Masterclasses presented by the International Masters of Gaming Law
• Thursday evening and Friday evening welcome receptions
• Saturday afternoon back-of-house tours of Harrah’s New Orleans
• Sunday general session focusing on the relationship between gaming and tourism

The Winter Meeting has been approved for 10.25 and 10.0 Continuing Legal Education credits by the Louisiana and Nevada bars, respectively, underscoring its importance as a premier gaming policy forum.

To view the NCLGS Winter Meeting agenda, register, and book hotel rooms at the host hotel at special attendee rates, visit http://www.nclgs.org/meetings.html

For sponsorship information, contact events@nclgs.org. Legislators and others seeking NCLGS membership information should contact Wayne Marlin at wayne.marlin@nclgs.org.

NCLGS is the only organization of state lawmakers that meets on a regular basis to discuss issues relating to gaming. Members of NCLGS serve as chairpersons or members of state legislative committees responsible for the regulation of gaming in their state legislative houses. NCLGS does not promote or oppose gaming but is primarily concerned with the regulation and economic and social impacts of the industry. The NCLGS Foundation is the educational and research arm of NCLGS. The 501(c)(3) non-profit is a source of non-partisan data on issues of gaming legislation and regulation.

Spectrum Gaming Group, which has performed advisory and consulting work for gaming operators, regulators and legislatures in 36 US states and territories and in 47 countries on six continents, serves as the Executive Director of NCLGS.

SOURCE National Council of Legislators from Gaming States

SBC (Sports Betting Community) has secured the services of a global sports marketing and sponsorship expert to help promote the Betting on Sports America event in New Jersey/New York on 23-25 April.

Jaap Kalma previously held senior executive roles at Ferrari and seven times European Champions AC Milan and will be working with SBC on its Betting on Sports America and Betting on Football (19-22 March) events early next year.

Betting on Sports America is the largest dedicated sports betting conference and exhibition in the US and covers an extensive range of topics including operations, regulation, sponsorship, marketing, products, affiliation, integrity, lotteries, tribal gaming and of course sports.

SBC CEO Rasmus Sojmark commented: “It’s a massive coup for us to get someone of Jaap Kalma’sstature to strengthen our competencies on the sports side and help with our visibility among the sports sector. We’ve worked with Jaap before, creating the Sponsorship Forum events together, so we know what qualities he is bringing to the team working on this project.”

Jaap Kalma added: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with the SBC team over the last year, so the opportunity to work even more closely with them on their Betting on Sports America  event was an exciting prospect. From my time at AC Milan, I know that sports betting offers so many opportunities to sports leagues and teams and my aim is to educate the sector on the possibilities.”

Previously Kalma was Chief Commercial Officer at AC Milan, the second most successful club in European Club history (behind only Spanish giants Real Madrid), where he carried responsibility for marketing, commercial revenues, and global development for the Italian soccer team. Before that he was Global Brand Director at luxury sports car manufacturer and Formula One team Ferrari.

In addition to Kalma’s global experience in the sports industry, he also spent six years at college and graduate school in the USA coming away with an MBA from Stanford University.

Kalma will take up the role of Interim Business Development Director to oversee the SBC Sponsorship Forum ahead of the Betting on Football conference at Stamford Bridge as well as influencing the sports marketing and sponsorship content at the following month’s Betting on Sports America conference, which is being held at Meadowlands Exposition Center in New Jersey.

Texas lawmaker Joe Deshotel said that he will push for a change in state laws for allowing casinos to operate alongside the Texas coast. The proceeds from the casinos would fund the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).

The legislator said that the idea is to reduce the need to constantly increase insurance premiums for windstorm insurance, KIII News reported. The bill would require an amendment to the state Constitution to allow gambling in specific areas, such as Nueces County, Jefferson, and Galveston.

Representative Todd Hunter said that before any decisions on the bill are made they have to review the potential revenue benefits from casinos to TWIA. “That will trigger on whether you’ve got to look at revenue measures or can you sustain what you have in the budget,” he said.

While there are no official estimations on how much money it would go to TWIA, the bill would include the number and would be discussed in the upcoming legislative session in 2019.

Moreover, he revealed that the bill would legalise greyhound and horse racing tracks in Harris and Bear counties.