Brett Abarbanel
5 QUESTIONS
Brett Abarbanel
Executive Director , International Gaming Institute , University of
Nevada , Las Vegas
The International Gaming Institute at the University of Nevada , Las Vegas , is America ’ s premier gaming research hub , led by Executive Director Brett Abarbanel . Since its inception , the IGI has been instrumental in fostering innovation , developing executive talent and advancing regulation across the industry . Having been at the school in various roles for more than a decade , Abarbanel is a leading figure when it comes to gaming research , policy , responsible gaming and other high-level topics . Abarbanel spoke with GGB Managing Editor Jess Marquez via Zoom in May .
1
GGB : You ’ re about a year and a half into your tenure as executive director of the IGI .
What has been the most difficult part of stepping into the lead role ? Abarbanel : The IGI is a really walls-outward institute ; huge chunks of what we do are not even on campus . I was ready and prepared for it , but it was the internal stakeholder management that I really had to learn . A university atmosphere is almost like a small city . You have different departments that may never talk to one another , and it ’ s like living in a completely different neighborhood . I think I finally have a grasp of the institutional knowledge that one needs to be a leader in that environment .
2
The IGI is the only large gaming research hub in the U . S . Does that make your job harder ?
There are definitely pros and cons to being who we are . We do have the benefit of getting to work with different universities and other academic institutions all over the world . There aren ’ t very many that really look at gambling in the holistic way that we do . But sometimes when we get a really neat project , it can be a struggle to find the right folks to work on that project . We ’ re very lucky that we do have a network that we ’ ve cultivated over many years to be able to reach out and put together a really useful and thoughtful group of people for different projects . But it absolutely can be a challenge .
3
Shannon Bybee was a friend and former boss of GGB Publisher Roger Gros . Bybee was an instrumental figure at the IGI . How do you think the institute is carrying on his vision ? The goal of the IGI has really largely stayed the same since ( Bybee ’ s ) leadership , and I like to think we are continuing that to this day . One of the things we ’ ve always tried to maintain is a really balanced look at all of this , because gambling ’ s not inherently positive . It ’ s not inherently negative ; it ’ s just something that we do as human beings , this risk-taking activity . We want to make sure that we ’ re emphasizing the positive , we ’ re emphasizing the negative , while at the same time maintaining the level of compassion that Shannon championed .
4
You ’ re very interested in esports and video games — what draws you to that side of things ? I love this subject . Even if you ’ re not a gamer , if you don ’ t participate in it yourself , it ’ s a really interesting phenomenon that has just spread across a lot of the ways that humans consume entertainment . And it ’ s a huge overlap with gambling , but it becomes an area where we have this pretty convoluted space that is very difficult to unpack from a regulatory perspective , from a commercial perspective . It is really fascinating to work in the broader gambling gaming industry and be able to explore the really interesting ways that we have innovated in this space over time .
5
What do you think we as an industry should be monitoring as this evolution unfolds ?
The biggest thing is to be open to learning . There should be almost an open-door type of policy to learn more about what this space looks like . If you ’ re doing some sort of product development or you ’ re trying to figure out a new space , there ’ s also proactive outreach by the industry that can be done to regulators so they are aware of what ’ s going on , of what this thing looks like . It ’ s really important to be mindful that they have to regulate a pretty big industry that clearly is regularly changing , and so it ’ s hard to stay on top of all those changes if they ’ re not doing that themselves .
“ They Said It ”
“ Various atrocities attributed to the industry have generated public outcry for a ban … Beyond the financial impact , the rise in human trafficking and online scams linked to POGOs is a moral failing we must address .”
— Sherwin Gatchalian , Philippine senator , who has filed a bill to ban offshore gambling operations in the country
CALENDAR
August 12-14 : Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association ( OIGA ) Conference and Tradeshow , Oklahoma City Convention Center , Oklahoma City , Oklahoma . Produced by OIGA . For more information , visit oiga . org .
August 12-14 : The Racing and Gaming Conference at Saratoga , Saratoga Hilton , Saratoga Springs , New York . Produced by Spectrum Gaming Group . For more information , visit racingandgamingsaratoga . com .
August 13-15 : Australaisan Gaming Expo , ICC Sydney , Sydney , Australia . Produced by the Gaming Technologies Association . For more information , visit austgamingexpo . com .
September 24-26 : SBC Summit , Feira Internacional De Lisboa , Lisbon , Portugal . Produced by SBC Events . For more information , visit sbcevents . com / sbc-summit .
October 7-10 : Global Gaming Expo ( G2E ), The Venetian Expo , Las Vegas , Nevada . Produced by Reed Exhibitions . For more information , visit globalgamingexpo . com .
October 15-16 : European Gaming Congress , Hotel Polonia Palace , Warsaw , Poland . Produced by Hipther . For more information , visit hipther . com / events / egc .
November 27-28 : Eastern European Gaming Summit , Inter Expo Center , Sofia , Bulgaria . Produced by the Association of Gaming Industry in Bulgaria . For more information , visit eegamingsummit . com .
January 20-22 : ICE Barcelona , Fira Gran Via , Barcelona , Spain . Produced by Clarion Gaming . For more information , visit ICEGaming . com .
8 Global Gaming Business JULY 2024