The Steering Committee of the International Association
of Gaming Regulators ("IAGR") in conjunction
with the trustees of the International Association
of Gaming Attorneys ("IAGA") held their
mid-year meetings in New York City on March 28 &
29, 2003.
A session was held with IAGA representatives during
which they brought to IAGR's attention a problem in
the gaming industry which affects their ability to
attract qualified independent directors to join their
respective Boards of Directors. Recent legislation
in the United States, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002,
requires a majority of the members of the Board of
Directors to be independent members. Since many of
these individuals need to be licensed in several jurisdictions
and often throughout the world, IAGA requested that
IAGR evaluate whether or not the various regulatory
authorities could make their best efforts to adopt
a unified approach to their investigation and formulate
a common application/disclosure form for these individuals.
IAGR Chairperson, Chris Fismer, indicated that the
matter would be pursued and discussed further at the
annual meeting of IAGR in Lisbon.
Members of the Steering Committee met to review suggestions
for the program to be held in Lisbon. At the outset
of the meeting, Chairperson, Chris Fismer welcomed
Kenyatta Gibson, Chairperson of the Gaming Board for
the Commonwealth of the Bahamas as a new member of
the Steering Committee. Kenyatta fills the seat vacated
by Claire Hepburn former Chairperson from the Bahamas.
Chris Fismer with input from the Steering Committee,
organized the program and identified individuals who
will be moderating and organizing each of the panels
identified for the Lisbon Conference. Later in the
day, IAGR Steering Committee Members met with IAGA
to review their respective programs and to coordinate
their efforts for the Lisbon Conference. Details on
the Lisbon Conference will be distributed as they
become available.
As a continuation of the IAGR Steering Committee meeting
in New York City, the group met in Atlantic City on
March 31, 2003. The visit to Atlantic City was hosted
by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement ("NJDGE").
During the day, we had several meetings which included
topics such as, processes and equipment utilized by
the NJDGE to establish identities of casino applicants,
a tour of the Borgata casino hotel facility currently
under construction, a session demonstrating how NJDGE
utilizes facial recognition software in criminal investigations
and a visit to the Trump Marina Casino surveillance
department to examine how the surveillance room in
the casino utilizes facial recognition software to
implement the self-exclusion and exclusion lists,
monitor criminal activity on the casino floor and
identify card counters.
The following individuals were in attendance at the
mid-year meeting:
Chris Fismer, Chairperson, IAGR
National Gambling Board of South Africa
Scott Scherer, Vice Chair, IAGR
Board Member, Nevada Gaming Control Board
Thomas N. Auriemma, Secretary, IAGR
Director, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
Trevor Garrett, Chief Executive
Casino Control Authority, New Zealand
Kenyatta Gibson, Chairperson
Gaming Board for the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Michael E. Joyce, Deputy Director
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
Tom Kavanagh, Secretary
Gaming Board for Great Britain
Gcwali Makhathini, Manager, Legal Services
National Gambling Board of South Africa
Tony Restuccia, Chief Investigator
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
George Rover, Assistant Attorney General
New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement
Eric van Vondelen, Secretary
Netherlands Gaming Control Board
Jan Walker, CHairperson
Casino Control Authority, New Zealand
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