Barry Diller approved to work in the casino business by Nevada Gaming Commission

The Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) has issued a limited licence for Barry Diller to work in the state’s casino industry. 

The NGC questioned Diller, MGM Resorts International shareholder, over questionable wagers on Activision Blizzard shares.  

MGM Resorts operates its MGM Grand casino out of Las Vegas, Nevada; the NGC, therefore, has been required to follow due diligence processes regarding Diller’s trading activities. 

Diller’s involvement in the scandal arose back when federal prosecutors were able to reveal that securities regulators and federal prosecutors had started investigating Diller’s large Bets on Activision Blizzard Shares. These investigations came soon after Microsoft bought Activision Blizzard.  

However, Diller has consistently claimed he had no inside knowledge of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition, saying bets placed on Activision Blizzard stock were merely coincidental. 

Diller said: “I recognise that such a neat coincidence, people are going to look at it. 

“I thought immediately that they would… I said; Let’s be certain we keep all the records so that whenever this is investigated, which it surely will be.”

A commissioner at the NGC, Steven Cohen, denied any uneasiness held against Diller’s character.

But he did admit investigations into Diller’s stock activities had given the billionaire an imperfect record as a casino shareholder.  

As a result of Diller’s “imperfect” record, the MGM Resorts board member must wait two years before applying for a full casino licence, unless investigations result in no charges made against him.  

Diller purchased 12 percent of MGM Resorts shares through InterActiveCorp (IAC) in 2020, a purchase that was worth more than $1bn. This happened as MGM Resorts expanded into online gambling.