Sisolak taps Gibson for Gaming Control Board

Gov. Steve Sisolak has announced the appointment of J. Brin Gibson to the Gaming Control Board and designated him to serve as the new chair and executive director. Gibson will fill a vacancy left after the departure of Sandra Douglass Morgan and took over as of Nov. 18.

“I am overjoyed to make this appointment. Brin is exactly the type of committed public servant needed in this important role during this critical time,” Sisolak said. “Brin’s extensive background and expertise in highly regulated industries, including his experience as chief of the Gaming Division, makes him a perfect fit for this position, and I look forward to watching him excel in this position.”

Gibson formerly served as Sisolak’s general counsel from January 2019 until January 2020. He also recently assisted the governor’s office during two special legislative sessions this summer.

While serving as Sisolak’s general counsel, Gibson served as the chief legal counsel regarding ethics, transactional and legislative matters as well as protection of state interests in the gaming and cannabis industries. In this role, Gibson acted as the chief legal counsel to Sisolak and all executive branch agency directors and cabinet members.

Prior to joining the governor’s office, he served dual roles as the first assistant attorney general and chief of the gaming division within the Nevada attorney general’s office. In these roles, he supervised all regulatory and administrative law action for the office of the attorney general and oversaw a staff of nearly 400 lawyers and legal support professionals.

In his role as the chief of gaming, he acted as the chief legal counsel to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, Nevada Gaming Commission and Nevada Gaming Policy Committee, where he handled all legal actions against Nevada gaming licensees by the board and commission, including regulatory issues and violations. Gibson was also appointed to two separate terms by former Gov. Brian Sandoval to serve as the commissioner of the Colorado River Commission of Nevada.

Most recently, Gibson was named as a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck earlier this year. He will be leaving that position to serve as chair of the Gaming Control Board.

“I am humbled and honored that Governor Sisolak would appoint me chair of the Nevada Gaming Control Board at this point in the state’s history,” Gibson said. “It is a position that has been occupied with individuals of high character and ability, including the outgoing chair, Sandra Douglass Morgan, who has done an exceptional job under the most difficult circumstances. I will work tirelessly to serve with the same sense of honor and dignity for the position those before me have shown.”

Gibson earned his bachelor of arts, master of public policy and juris doctor degrees from Brigham Young University.