Stephen D. Schrier

Stephen D. Schrier
Partner
Business Litigation

Biography

Stephen Schrier co-chairs the firm’s Gaming practice and Sports practice. He concentrates on complex litigation, regulatory proceedings, transactions, and advice involving all aspects of gaming and related businesses, encompassing casino, internet casino, sports betting, fantasy sports, e-sports, horse racing, and social gaming. He has vast experience handling gaming-related consumer litigation, shareholder actions, employment litigation, complex regulatory proceedings, gaming licensing, regulatory violations, and compliance.

Stephen has managed the regulatory approval process nationally for public and private companies in transactions ranging from $1M to $2B. With over 30 years of experience, he focuses on all aspects of gaming, and its intersection with sports law. Stephen advises gaming operators, suppliers, investors, developers, payment, Know Your Customer (“KYC”), and affiliates in this industry.

Stephen is a former Deputy Attorney General with the State of New Jersey’s Division of Gaming Enforcement, where he was responsible for ensuring that New Jersey casinos and vendors maintained compliance with state regulations during their license investigations and ongoing operations. He was an adjunct professor at Rutgers Law School for 20 years, teaching gaming law.

He has been a member of the executive committee of several gaming organizations and is a frequent lecturer on gaming topics nationally and internationally.

Experience

  • Successfully obtained the first Internet gaming transactional waivers for New Jersey casino operators and internet casino companies.
  • Represented the first sports operators to obtain licensure to engage in sports wagering operations outside Nevada following the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Murphy v. NCAA, et al.
  • Represented a public company activist shareholder in navigating the national gaming regulatory environment.
  • Served as national regulatory coordinating counsel in the sale of a one billion dollar gaming company.
  • Successfully obtained key regulatory approvals for Eldorado Resorts in its acquisition of Isle, Tropicana, and Caesars Entertainment.
  • Defended several sportsbooks, casinos, and internet gaming operators in consumer fraud litigation claims.
  • Provides legal opinions to gaming and sports operators to meet payment provider requirements.
  • Assists gaming developers in patent, copyright, contracting, and gaming regulatory approvals to bring their games to market.
  • Guided a well-known sportsbooks on their entry to, and eventual withdrawal from, the U.S. market.
  • Provides national guidance to marketing affiliates, KYC providers, and payment companies.
  • Represented a well-known digital gaming operator in the sale of its business to a national casino operator.
  • Successfully obtained all the regulatory approvals for a private investment fund to acquire and operate a significant New Jersey casino property.
  • Provide guidance to gaming operators, investors, and sports organizations on legislation regarding sports betting.
  • Represents companies in the social gaming and e-sports business sectors.
  • Negotiated complex divestiture provisions with regulators to enable a publicly traded internet gaming company to operate in New Jersey.
  • Successfully obtained one of the first racino licenses under Pennsylvania’s Gaming Act.
  • Successfully defended a casino licensee in multiple Pennsylvania Supreme Court cases.
  • Won the bid for the first commercial gaming license for a Native American tribe.
  • Prepared Internet gaming language for proposed legislation.
  • Counseled a casino developer in business and regulatory matters before bidding on gaming licenses.
  • Prepared numerous license application materials and presented to gaming boards for several casino gaming applicants.

Relevant Published Opinions

  • Mason Dixon Resorts, L.P. v. Pa. Gaming Control Bd., 52 A.3d 1087, 2012 Pa. LEXIS 1862 (Pa. 2012)
  • Taveras v. Resorts International Hotel, Inc., et al., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71670 (D.N.J. 2008)
  • Philadelphia Entertainment and Development Partners, L.P. v. City Council of Philadelphia, 596 Pa. 422 (Pa. 2008)
  • Pennsylvania Gaming Control Bd. v. City Council of Philadelphia, 928 A.2d 1255 (Pa. 2007)
  • Society Hill Civic Ass’n. v. Pennsylvania Gaming Control Bd., 928 A.2d 175 (Pa. 2007)
  • Gerald Chamales Corp. v. Oki Data Americas, Inc., et al., 247 F.R.D. 453 (D.N.J 2007)

News & Views

See all News and Views

Recognitions

  • AV Preeminent®, listed in Martindale-Hubbell®
  • 2023–2025, Gaming & Licensing Law, listed in Chambers USA
  • 2006–2026, Gaming Law in Philadelphia, listed in Best Lawyers in America©
  • 2025, Thought Leader in Gaming, listed in Lexology Index (formerly Who's Who Legal)
  • 2022, Global Leader in Gaming, listed in Who’s Who Legal
  • 2018; 2020; 2022, listed in Euromoney’s Gaming and Gambling Best of the Best USA Expert Guides
  • 2021, Sports, Gaming & Entertainment Law Trailblazer, listed in The National Law Journal
  • 2018–2019, listed in Euromoney’s Gaming and Gambling Expert Guide
  • 2014, exclusive selection of Client Choice for Leisure & Tourism in Pennsylvania
  • 2014, “Best Attorney in Business,” listed in South Jersey Biz magazine

Affiliations

Memberships

  • International Association of Gaming Advisors
  • International Masters Gaming Law
  • New Jersey State Bar Association

Credentials

Admissions

  • Pennsylvania
  • New Jersey

Education

  • University of Colorado, BA
  • Rutgers University School of Law, Camden, JD

A description of the standard or methodology on which the accolades are based can be found here.

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