American Gambling Awards Finalists: Regulator of the Year

The American Gambling Awards celebrate the outstanding work of the companies, organizations, executives and influencers working to responsibly grow the regulated online American casino and sports betting market.

The winners will be announced the week of Nov. 14. Leading up to those announcements, Gambling.com will profile the finalists.

Here are the finalists for Regulator of the Year.

Todd Allen, Kansas Racing and Gaming Director of Wagering

In Kansas, integrity was vital in getting sports betting off the ground, said Todd Allen, director of wagering for the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission.

A former Applebee’s restaurant general manager, Allen worked his way up through the ranks at the Racing and Gaming Commission, starting as a financial investigator and auditor before transitioning to government relations manager. He since has moved up to become director of wagering.

 In May, Gov. Laura Kelly signed the bill legalizing in-person and mobile wagering om Kansas. The goal was to launch sports betting in time for the start of the NFL season about three months later — not an easy task in a short timeframe.

That meant the Racing and Commission had to work quickly but efficiently with the Kansas Lottery to get sports betting launched in one of the fastest turnarounds in the nation.

“While we want to try to hurry and get up and running, to have wagers at some point during this NFL season, our goal still remains the same that we have to uphold the integrity of not only gaming, but also sports wagering in Kansas,” Allen said early in the process. “We want to make sure that when that product comes out to the patron, that it's going to be an honest product and that the state of Kansas can be proud of it.”

The two agencies worked tirelessly throughout the summer to accomplish their goal. With the governor placing the first bet — a wager on the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl — sports betting began Sept. 1 with Kansas sportsbooks at the ready, with time to spare before the NFL regular season began.

Allen’s LinkedIn profiles sums the professional approach he brings to whatever job is at hand: "Hard working analytical individual that gets results.”

Ronnie Johns, Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman

Louisiana Gaming Control Board Chairman Ronnie Johns knows how to capitalize on the state’s passion for football.

Under Johns’ direction, legal sports betting was launched at commercial casino sportsbooks in October 2021 on the same day as a New Orleans Saints game. About three months later, mobile sports betting got its start in time for a January NFL playoff game featuring former LSU stars Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The retail and mobile launches were successful and Louisiana sportsbooks now offering bettors the chance to wager on their favorite local teams. 

“We’re a football state,” Johns said at the time. 

Johns has won industry-wide praise for kicking off a seamless sports betting program and steadily steering the state's gaming industry through destructive hurricanes, the coronavirus pandemic and a national economic downturn. With Johns at the helm, at least three riverboat casinos are moving their entire operations to land-based sites. The first of these, the Horseshoe Lake Charles, is set to open in December 2022. 

In the summer of 2021, Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards selected Johns, a respected former Republican state senator, to guide the Louisiana Gaming Control Board, knowing his experience and his insistence on integrity in gaming would result in positive outcomes.

Heading into the new year, and with college and professional football in full stride, the gaming industry is thriving in Louisiana, the only Gulf Coast state from Texas to Florida with mobile sports betting.

Louis Rogacki, New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement Deputy Director

A former New Jersey deputy attorney general at the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Rogacki has been with the Division of Gaming Enforcement for more than 20 years in various key roles. 

Since November 2016, this Seton Hall and Vermont Law School graduate has been the Division of Gaming Enforcement’s deputy director and assistant attorney general. In that position, he oversees the Atlantic City office, Service Industry Licensing Bureau, Regulatory Prosecution Bureau and more.

Rogacki’s impact on one of the nation’s most successful gaming markets has been significant. He had a key role in implementing internet gaming in New Jersey in 2013 and in launching legal retail and mobile New Jersey sportsbooks across the state in 2018.

From responsible gaming initiatives to crackdowns on illegal activity, the Division of Gaming Enforcement has been an industry leader. It also has helped guide New Jersey to record gaming revenue totals.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court opened the door to sports betting across the country in 2018, New Jersey’s $29.6 billion sports wagering handle has topped all other sates.

And New Jersey is not slowing down. 

This year from January through September, the state’s total gaming revenue exceeded $3.87 billion. The state not only has iGaming and sports betting, but also is home to casinos and racetracks.

With highly regarded leaders like Rogacki on board, this growth and regulatory oversight make the Garden State a nationwide model.