Sean M McGuinness

Practice Areas

Gaming

Career

Sean McGuinness is highly experienced in gaming regulatory matters and represents clients throughout the USA. His practice focuses primarily on commercial gaming and sports betting matters in Nevada, Colorado, Iowa and Mississippi, as well as tribal gaming matters. He also has experience with gaming bankruptcy matters. Sean also represents banking clients with respect to public financing transactions in the State of Nevada.

Sean has represented clients with licensing and regulatory matters before the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the Nevada Gaming Commission, the Colorado Division of Gaming, the Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission, the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission, the Mississippi Gaming Commission and the National Indian Gaming Commission. He has also participated in gaming related matters in other jurisdictions such as Arizona, California, Canada, Hungary, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Virginia, Switzerland, Tinian and Washington. Sean has represented clients in gaming bankruptcy matters, including the Herbst Gaming, Station Casinos, Fitzgeralds Gaming Corporation, the Aladdin Hotel and Casino, and the Resort at Summerlin proceedings.

Sean is frequently asked to comment on the Commercial Gaming industry. Sean appeared on Nevada Newsmakers in November 2016 to discuss recent Gaming industry trends. He is also a regular pundit on the program. In 2011, Sean was featured in a Q&A with In Business Las Vegas (now Vegas Inc.) where he provided an overview of his practice and the Gaming Industry in Nevada.

Prior to joining the firm, Sean practiced gaming law for 15 years at a law firm in their Reno, Las Vegas and Denver offices. Sean was Vice President and General Counsel for The Resort at Summerlin, which was owned by Swiss Casinos (1997-2001), and had a private gaming law practice in Mississippi (1994-1997) and served as Compliance Director for the Mississippi Gaming Commission (1992-1993). Sean got his start in the gaming industry as a law clerk for the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission.

Sean is also experienced in communications law (FCC broadcast licensing and compliance). He has done work for radio stations in Colorado (KDEN, KNUS), Mississippi (WUMS, WUSM) and Nevada (KSVL).

Professional Memberships

American Bar Association (Business Law Section – Past Chair of the Gaming Law Committee); International Association of Gaming Advisors; International Masters of Gaming Law (Co-Chair, 2016 IMGL Autumn Conference); State Bar of Nevada (Past member of Gaming Law Section Executive Committee); the Mississippi Bar; Iowa State Bar Association and the Colorado Bar Association.

Publications

Presenter, “IMGL Masterclass, National Council of Legislators From Gaming States Conference,” Denver, CO, July 15, 2023; Moderator “Antitrust and Regulatory Divestment: The Future of Consolidations,” International Masters of Gaming Law Masterclass® at G2E, Las Vegas, Nev., October 2022; Moderator “U.S./Canada Updates,” International Masters of Gaming Law Conference, London, England, September 15, 2022; Speaker, “Legal Ethics and Data Privacy,” International Association of Gaming Advisors, Boston, MA, June 2022; Moderator, “Brick and Mortar Gaming in a Post-COVID World,” International Masters of Gaming Law 2021 Spring Conference, March 8, 2021; Speaker, “Sports Betting Jurisdictional Update-Colorado,” IMGL Masterclass, March 2021; Panelist, “The Law of Regulated Gambling: An Intro for Business Lawyers,” American Bar Association, Webinar, September 18, 2020.

Personal

Drake University, B.A, 1986; M.A., 1989; and J.D., 1989