Nevada regulators fuss with rules on slots with cartoon themes

Tarzan came up Wednesday as image-conscious regulators worked on a rule to make slots less appealing to children by barring graphics and animation featuring youth-oriented characters from cartoons, comic books, books, magazines, video and board games, television and movies.

Under the proposed rule, gamblers wouldn't see "South Park" or "Spiderman" themes on slots. But decades-old cartoon flirt Betty Boop would be OK.

Tarzan? His future as a slot icon appeared doubtful as members of the Gaming Control Board; the board's parent, Nevada Gaming Commission; and high-priced gambling industry lawyers fiddled with the rule that's up for final approval by month's end.

The proposal now says slots couldn't be based on child-oriented themes unless they've been around for 21 or more years prior to a slot maker's bid to capitalize on them.

That's where the ape man comes in. Gaming Commission Chairman Brian Sandoval asked about years-old themes that get revived - like last year's "Tarzan" movie that grossed nearly $171 million. Gaming Control Board member Dennis Neilander replied that more general wording in existing regulations bars "inappropriate" themes on slots.

The proposed rule also has a catchall clause that says no slot can use a theme derived from or based on a product currently and primarily intended for, marketed to and used by people under 21.

There's room for a waiver, as long as a slot theme doesn't clash with "the public policy of the state." And there's a grandfather clause for existing slots.

Wednesday's debate also focused on manufacturers' concern that regulatory review of their slot themes in advance of production might tip off competitors who'd try to get the same concept approved first.

That led to a long discussion of Nevada's open meeting law, which generally requires government entities to operate in the open, and a separate state law that allows for some closed meetings by the casino regulators.

Control Board member Bobby Siller said closed discussions made sense, given the ludicrous prospect of trying to talk about a specific slot theme in public while withholding details to preserve a trade secret.

Sandoval asked for an attorney general's opinion prior to the Gaming Commission's Jan. 27 meeting in Las Vegas. He wants the rule adopted then, but said it can't run counter to the open meeting law.

Nevada regulators and manufacturers hope the rule will counter national criticism and show that the state can handle the issue without federal intervention.

While some slot makers at first thought the rule was a Mickey Mouse idea, it now has broad gambling industry support.

Themed slots aren't new. Some already in casinos feature graphics or animation based on the 1930s icon Betty Boop, Monopoly, Yahtzee and Elvis Presley.

New slots in the works are based on the Pink Panther, "I Dream of Jeannie," "The Munsters," "The Three Stooges" and other TV or movie hits. There's even one slot topped by a dancing toy chicken. Others have full-size heads of Lurch and Uncle Fester from "The Addams Family."

Critics of slot themes targeting children have included Republican presidential candidate John McCain, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, who said he may hold hearings on the matter and ask the Federal Trade Commission for help.

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