The 1,500 Foot Wall: Barriers between gaming and cannabis in Nevada and the potential for integration.
Session Title
Regulation: Integrity, Policy & Emerging Issues
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation
Start Date
26-5-2026 12:00 AM
Abstract
In this presentation, we discuss the findings of “The 1,500-foot Wall: Barriers between cannabis and gaming in Nevada and the potential for integration” report. The presentation will review the impacts of the statutory and regulatory barriers that currently separate cannabis and gaming businesses in Nevada, exploring the potential impacts of alternative policies that could eventually integrate cannabis and gaming. The presentation will first provide a brief history of the development of Nevada’s barriers between gaming and cannabis, including prohibition of co-investment, co-location, delivery of cannabis to the Strip corridor, and limitations on physical proximity. The Director of the Cannabis Policy Institute will discuss the motivation for the paper and similar work conducted in this area. The presentation will also discuss stakeholder interviews and how support for, and justification of, the barriers may have evolved over the past decade. The presentation will then discuss the impacts of these separations, including the ban on delivery to the Strip corridor, where most of the state’s 50 million annual tourists stay and spend most of their time. A primary impact being that all of the cannabis sold on the Strip corridor is unlicensed, untested cannabis from unregulated sources. While legal sales and delivery are suppressed on the Strip and within 1,500 of gaming establishments, legal cannabis businesses are struggling to be profitable and gaming revenue is down.
The 1,500 Foot Wall: Barriers between gaming and cannabis in Nevada and the potential for integration.
In this presentation, we discuss the findings of “The 1,500-foot Wall: Barriers between cannabis and gaming in Nevada and the potential for integration” report. The presentation will review the impacts of the statutory and regulatory barriers that currently separate cannabis and gaming businesses in Nevada, exploring the potential impacts of alternative policies that could eventually integrate cannabis and gaming. The presentation will first provide a brief history of the development of Nevada’s barriers between gaming and cannabis, including prohibition of co-investment, co-location, delivery of cannabis to the Strip corridor, and limitations on physical proximity. The Director of the Cannabis Policy Institute will discuss the motivation for the paper and similar work conducted in this area. The presentation will also discuss stakeholder interviews and how support for, and justification of, the barriers may have evolved over the past decade. The presentation will then discuss the impacts of these separations, including the ban on delivery to the Strip corridor, where most of the state’s 50 million annual tourists stay and spend most of their time. A primary impact being that all of the cannabis sold on the Strip corridor is unlicensed, untested cannabis from unregulated sources. While legal sales and delivery are suppressed on the Strip and within 1,500 of gaming establishments, legal cannabis businesses are struggling to be profitable and gaming revenue is down.