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twitterDaily Memo: Gaming:
Use of foreign labor by slot makers sparks regulation consideration
Monday, Aug. 24, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Related Document (.pdf)
Beyond the Sun
Amid a slew of little-noticed gaming bills, the Legislature this year passed a law enabling the Nevada Gaming Commission to draft regulations requiring licensing of third parties, including contractors, who have significant roles in building gambling devices for use in Nevada.
Most casino industry rules passed in Nevada aim to make it easier for the state’s primary industry to do business — either by easing regulations or allowing new business opportunities — but this provision goes in the other direction: adding oversight where little existed.
The bill grew out of Gaming Control Board concerns with slot machine manufacturers using foreign labor to make components.
International Game Technology and Bally Technologies began using workers in India a few years ago, claiming they couldn’t find enough local talent for the job. IGT has outsourced work to India, and Bally, in part because of regulatory concerns surrounding the use of contractors, opened offices in India and hired workers there as full-time Bally employees.
Many companies rely on Indian labor because of that country’s relatively inexpensive yet educated workforce in areas such as engineering and computer technology.
This move by the slot giants has upset locals seeking to encourage the growth of technology jobs in Nevada, but it has caused more pressing concerns among regulators charged with protecting the integrity of the state’s gambling games.
State law requires manufacturers of gambling devices, just as it does the heads of Nevada casinos, to be licensed — an extensive process of probing the personal and work histories of a company’s top executives. Lower down the corporate ladder, engineers and others working on gambling machines or gambling-related technology must get a work card, a less invasive process involving filling out an application, passing a criminal-background check and being fingerprinted by local law enforcement. Workers who change jobs must update their information with the Gaming Control Board, which keeps each individual’s application on file.
Because of the difficulty of licensing foreign workers and contractors, let alone licensing top executives based abroad, manufacturing companies say they use domestic labor for sensitive jobs such as coding and other work related to the outcome of any particular game.
Regulators have allowed unlicensed, foreign workers to develop what manufacturers call “peripheral” technology, such as the graphics and sound used in slot machines and other gambling equipment.
But now, regulators think those workers also should be licensed.
The way the Control Board sees it, just about everything is related to the outcome of a gambling game, not simply the random number generator — a device in each slot machine that determines whether a player has won or lost. Today’s high-tech slots no longer feature mechanical reels with a certain number of physical “stops.” A slot machine result triggers a complex set of video graphics, noises and other features.
For instance, a slot machine could record a loss yet outwardly display something looking like a win — a feature that could entice more people to gamble yet also elicit complaints from players.
Allowing unlicensed companies to design or make such features just out of the reach of regulators’ control is causing growing anxieties at the Gaming Control Board.
Just how far regulators will extend their regulatory reach will be hashed out in workshops hosted by the Gaming Control Board with industry representatives in the next few months.
The five-member commission, which ultimately votes on changes or additions to Nevada’s gaming regulations, can expect pushback from game manufacturers that seek less, not more, regulatory interference.
The board must balance its mandate to promote industry growth and innovation with the need to ensure gamblers get a fair shake. In a state where most gambling legislation does the former, regulators are wary of complaints by angry gamblers, which not only take up valuable time but create problems for Nevada’s reputation as the gambling industry’s gold standard.
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outsouring-a republican dream team
Why were these jobs outsourced to begin with? Oh yeah, greed.
Is it such a shock that less people are visiting our city? With all the middle class jobs that have been outsourced to overseas markets, is it so hard to understand why our citizens can't afford to visit our city?
Is it so hard to understand why we don't have jobs for our middle class? Do people realize that outsourcing and breaking federal laws by hiring illegal aliens has broken our middle class?
I believe our middle class is aware of it. It's time to shove some reality down our politicians throats and wake them up to remind them that they they are supposed to be "of the people, for the people".
International Game Technology and Bally Technologies began using workers in India a few years ago, claiming they couldn't find enough local talent for the job
have they tried? maybe if they opened up these jobs to american workers, they would find the talent. then the unemplyment rate would'nt keep going up and the ones with the knowledge and experience could actually come here to live and work. But that;s to simple.
It un-American to use foreign labor! These businesses should be fined and taxes very heavily.
As an employee of one of the companies mentioned, it certainly seems that sending the jobs to India, and now China, is related to greed and expense sheets, and has little to do with finding local talent.
If local talent was an issue, there wouldn't be layoffs state-side at the same time as hiring in the foreign offices.
News Flash:
Corporations do not have consciences or morals. They are required by law to maximize profits for share holders. With that in mind, why would they NOT outsource? Because the CEO is a nice guy? Because it's good for America? Because he cares about the person who actually produces the goods that pays for his health care, BMW and gated home?
If the government doesn't regulate and control corporations who will? They obviously will not do it on their own.
TOG is right -- the corporate bottomline is what drives their decision-making. And if the Gaming Board has decided that current technology is such that the entire system, and not just the random number generator, is vulnerable, then it needs to regulate the production of the entire system in order to protect the integrity of the industry. (Given the state of computer technology, I would guess that the GB is correct. Worms, viruses, ect...they're all out there; who says they can't be planted in the video card and then move over into other systems/programs once they're all connected?)
And the dodge about not finding qualified Americans is a lie. They're out there, for these jobs or ANY other -- they're just not as cheap as an Indian or Chinese, nor should they need to be. The US needs "free but fair trade", something that the GOP and Dems seem unwilling to address. I can accept free trade with countries that have comparable labor, safety, environmental and copyright standards (and are enforcing them), but there needs to be a tariff on those that don't in order to level out the playing field. As it stands, the pols in DC are sacrificing the working class in this country to their corprorate benefactors, who in turn exploit cheap labor and minimal standards in places like India, China & Mexico. The Govt has imposed certain standards on American businesses -- so to be fair, they need to do the same on those businesses that export into this country so that all compete on a level playing field.
How many commenters drive foreign cars or buy foreign products? Isn't that outsourcing also?
Anything attached to the machine, including the player tracking system, bonus systems, reel configuration and artwork, etc. should require a gaming license.
Outsourcing to India is a strictly done for the lowering of labor costs.
If GCB can investigate and license people in foreign countries in the same manner it does for local employees I see no problem.
If it cannot, then there's a problem.
Lower your GREED abit...and allow US companies to do the work THEY SHOULD be doing in the first place.No reason for this outsourcing.
LasVegas2009..You are right on but it will not happen until the USA is bankrupt. By then, it is too late.
Typical Las Vegas casinos getting the most out of the least. They sqeeeeeeeeeeeze the consumers while providing cheap outsourced machines and even cheaper customer service.
Shame on all of you who support foreign products unless you want to speak chinese or indian.
I was an engineer laid off by one of the companies mentioned. That company is laying off large numbers of employees and transferring the work we did to China. That includes manufacturing and engineering.
This outsourcing is NOT being done because the company cannot find local talent, it is being done strictly to improve the bottom line of that company.
I agree with renoplayer. We need to do all we can to support American business and American products. I drive a Chevy and a Pontiac, both made in Michigan (I checked before I bought). When I bought tires awhile back, I declined the Chinese tires and paid a little extra tor U.S. made tires. Same gors for tools, furniture, appliances, etc. (Although I wasn't able to find a U.S. made toaster). We can't buy 100% American, but where there's an option, we need to, NO, a Toyota is not American, no matter where it's assembled. Same goes for a Korean built Chevy. IGT could actually use creating American jobs to their advantage with the publicity. We are being sold out, one factory at a time. What we really need is a months long strike at the docks, leaving the container ships loaded in the bay.