The cover of this 2008 Summer Edition of Casino Lawyer features the deans of American law schools that have demonstrated a commitment to educating budding lawyers regarding the intricacies of gaming law. In addition to adding gaming law to their law school curriculums, they have sponsored gaming law conferences, symposiums, gaming-focused law review articles, and in the case of the Thomas M. Cooley Law School, a directed study program focused on summarizing the gaming laws, regulations and case law of all 50 states of the United States.

Each of the law schools represented on the cover have partnered with the International Masters of Gaming Law to develop gaming law education programs and materials. This is just one of the many ways in which the IMGL is fulfilling its commitment to expanding the body of gaming law-related materials available to gaming lawyers and industry professionals.

The IMGL has launched a new magazine: Canadian GamingLawyer. This semiannual publication is focused on gaming issues of interest to Canada’s growing gaming industry. Approximately 4,000 copies of the magazine will be distributed to lawyers and gaming industry professionals throughout Canada. The first issue has been launched in conjunction with the Canadian Gaming Summit held from April 29–May 1 in Montreal, Canada.

In September the IMGL will host a one-day gaming law symposium at the Drake University Law School in Des Moines, Iowa. Leading gaming scholars will present and discuss comprehensive papers dealing with a variety of gaming law issues. The papers will then be published and distributed to IMGL members, law schools and other interested parties. Persons interested in submitting scholarly papers for presentation at the symposium should contact Anthony Cabot at acabot@lrlaw.com for submission requirements.

Plans for the IMGL conference in Berlin, Germany, are rapidly being finalized. The conference will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on October 29–31. The Berlin conference committee is arranging a comprehensive gaming law education program plus a dinner at an exciting Berlin historical venue. Several program sponsors have already signed on. If you have a business interested in becoming a program sponsor, please contact IMGL Executive Director Melissa Lurie. A variety of sponsorship packages are available. It is a tremendous opportunity to obtain worldwide exposure while advancing the commitment to gaming law education.

The IMGL is providing Gaming Law track speakers for the North American Gaming Regulators Association’s (NAGRA) annual meeting in New Orleans, La., scheduled for June 10–13 IMGL members are encouraged to attend.

I am very pleased to announce that NAGRA President Dominic "Don" Dutton has agreed to write a NAGRA news column for Casino Lawyer magazine commencing with our next issue.

The IMGL Gaming Regulator of the Year award will be presented at the IMGL Berlin conference. Consistent with IMGL venue traditions, the 2008 Gaming Regulator of the Year award will be presented to a regulator for a jurisdiction outside of the United States. Please submit nominations to IMGL Executive Director Melissa Lurie, or to Justin Franssen, chair of the IMGL Regulator of the Year committee, as soon as possible. Committee members include Quirino Mancini, Thibault Verbiest, Philippe Vlaemminck, Michael Lipton, Jack Ketterer and Antonio Ramirez.

My March letter to IMGL members announced the 2008 committee structure and committee appointments. Participation on IMGL committees is one of the many ways in which persons who join the IMGL’s membership ranks can connect with fellow gaming professionals. Individuals who join the IMGL during the year can join a committee mid-year by contacting me and discussing their interests and goals in joining the IMGL.

The IMGL is focused on maximum outreach to the worldwide gaming community. With this principle in mind, commencing with the 2008 fall issues of Casino Lawyer and Canadian Gaming Lawyer magazines, the IMGL will periodically invite gaming leaders to write a guest column addressing issues that they believe are especially pertinent to the challenges of today’s gaming industry environment. IMGL member suggestions for guest columnists for either of our magazines should be forwarded to me at rstocker@dickinsonwright.com, Anthony Cabot at acabot@lrlaw.com for Casino Lawyer magazine, or Michael Lipton at mdliptonqc@aol.com for Canadian Gaming Lawyer magazine.

Casino Lawyer magazine is designed and edited by IMGL members for the gaming industry. IMGL members are the principal contributors to the magazine. This publishing endeavor is meant to encourage thoughtful discussion of topical gaming issues. As an educational organization, the IMGL encourages the expression of a variety of viewpoints in the belief that open discussion of gaming issues encourages rational resolution of those issues. As such, the IMGL’s editorial policy is to be open to a variety of opposing views and to facilitate discussions in a free spirited but respectful format. Articles advancing conflicting viewpoints that are well written and insightful will always be given consideration for inclusion in IMGL publications, subject to time and space constraints.

Robert W. Stocker II
Dickinson Wright PLLC
rstocker@dickinsonwright.com