Longtime MGM executive joins UNLV’s International Gaming Institute

One of the champions for advocating the balance of gambling with responsible play has joined UNLV’s International Gaming Institute as a distinguished fellow in responsible gaming.

Alan Feldman, who spent 29 years as a senior executive with MGM Resorts International and its predecessor companies and was one of the leaders in implementing MGM’s GameSense responsible gaming initiatives, was appointed May 1.

“Just as I began to believe that nothing could top my 29 years with Mirage and MGM, turns out I was wrong!” Feldman said Thursday in a Facebook post.

As a fellowship recipient, Feldman will lead IGI’s responsible gaming efforts, including further developing programs and policies to advance knowledge and capabilities within the industry and regulatory community, according to a news release.

The fellowship will support IGI’s mission of promoting international best practices in responsible gaming at a time when integrated resorts are entering more jurisdictions than ever, the release states. IGI actively conducts responsible gaming research and related training programs, including a report and related work that led to the approval of integrated resorts in Japan.

“At IGI, we pride ourselves on bringing the world’s brilliant gaming minds together under one roof to tackle our field’s biggest questions,” said IGI Executive Director Bo Bernhard said in the release. “In this spirit, we are delighted to welcome Alan Feldman, a true industry giant and pioneering responsible gaming executive, to our team.”

Feldman has been a frequent speaker in compulsive gambling forums and has also developed relationships with academics, clinicians, public health officials, and problem gambling patients worldwide. He also serves as chair of both the National Center for Responsible Gaming and the Nevada Advisory Committee on Problem Gambling.

He will continue to advise MGM on its ongoing efforts to improve the planning, development and implementation of responsible gaming policies and programs.

GameSense, established by the British Columbia Lottery Corp. to develop effective measures for players to control compulsive gambling habits that researchers say afflict around 5 percent of the gambling population, was adopted by MGM as a requirement for licensing in Massachusetts. But MGM decided to adopt the program for every domestic casino in operates in the United States.

“I am so excited to bring what I’ve learned in my career and work with the public, private, and non-profit sectors to the UNLV International Gaming Institute — a one-of-a-kind academic institution dedicated to the study of gaming,” Feldman said in a release. “Working together, I’m confident we’ll be able to gain new insights into harm reduction for at-risk players and positively impact more lives globally through our responsible gaming efforts.”

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.