American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller released the following statement on the Nevada Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 4:

“The AGA and our members applaud the bipartisan effort by the Nevada Legislature and Governor Sisolak to protect all businesses by limiting exposure to potential COVID-related lawsuits. This allows our members to focus on what’s most needed right now: sustained economic and community recovery.

“As the gaming industry responsibly reopens across the country, it continues to adapt in incredible ways to protect the health and safety of workers and customers. Gaming properties, led by our deep-rooted culture of compliance, continue to follow, and often exceed, government reopening guidelines nationwide.

“While we have worked diligently to safely reopen our doors and welcome our team members back to work, we remain concerned that already-suffering gaming businesses will be forced to defend against an onslaught of frivolous lawsuits. Capacity restrictions and significant safety expenditures are already taking their toll. This bill helps to mitigate the costs of burdensome litigation that will ultimately affect state and local taxes and jobs.

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“But, this is truly a national crisis. It is incumbent upon Congress and the administration to follow Nevada’s leadership and enact timely, targeted, and temporary liability relief provisions to safeguard responsible actors against frivolous lawsuits. This protection is essential for businesses to continue to contribute to a safe and effective economic recovery from the pandemic.”

Background

• The AGA joined a coalition of nearly 500 business organizations in calling on Congress to promptly address the liability issue at a national level.
• To date, 850 of 990 U.S. casinos properties across 39 states have partially reopened. This includes 417 commercial casinos (89.7% of total) and 433 tribal properties (82.4% of total). The AGA’s COVID-19 casino tracker lists the reopening status of every U.S. casino.
• Read an overview of the various practices that gaming companies may implement based on a review of member health and safety plans.