The woman who worked to push the legalization of sports betting forward on behalf of the casino industry will open a consultancy to advise sports and media properties and tech companies on how to best navigate that rapidly emerging landscape. SARA SLANE, the American Gaming Association Senior VP/Public Affairs who served as the U.S. gaming companies’ liaison to the sports business, has left her post to launch Slane Advisory. A '19 SBJ Forty Under 40 selection, Slane will remain in the DC area and continue to work with the AGA as an advisor, but said she does not plan to accept gaming industry clients. Before joining the AGA five years ago, Slane spent seven years with MGM Resorts Int'l, where she was VP/Regional Government Affairs. “Because it is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country, and then adding in the layer of every state being different and having a different set of players and different set of regulations to navigate, it becomes far more complex than people expect going in,” Slane said. “If you’re not informed, you’re not going to get much traction. I understand what the gaming companies’ priorities are and I understand what the sports industry’s priorities are. And I’m passionate about bringing them together.”
