Assuming all of the following, is it possible for a CFA charterholder to run a Casino and still be in compliance with the Code and Standards?
It’s legal in the locale (i.e. Las Vegas, Macau, etc.) and you’re following ALL the laws and regulations for Casinos.
You offer help to those who have a gambling problem.
You don’t make ostentatious promises of getting rich quickly from gambling.
itera
September 13, 2013, 1:20am
#2
Of course, why not?
Investing isn’t too far from a casino. Each investment you make has odds of winning and losing. If investments valuations were 100% guaranteed to make or lose a certain amount of money, then all the asset managers, traders, research analysts may as well all just quit now.
Besides your clients are willingly coming to gamble on odds that are known.
The only way you’d get in trouble is if you were rigging the games.
andyxu
September 13, 2013, 1:36am
#3
No need to worry about that.
I think most people would renounce the charter to be a casino manager
A CFA charterholder may run a casino without violating the Code and Standards.
Whether he _ can _ or not is another matter entirely: he may be a lousy manager.
If i have my own casino, i can care less if i am a CFA charterholder… it’s pretty much a license to print money!
But no where in CFA ethics where they prohibit gambling and gaming industry…
system
September 13, 2013, 6:45pm
#6
I got pretty far in a Corp Dev interview process at Caesars after my MBA. The brah I interviewed with was a CFA, CAIA, and MBA. He also was a professional card counter and competed in poker tournaments.
Sadly it didn’t pan out…
You haven’t been to Atlantic City recently.
I got pretty far in a Corp Dev interview process at Caesars after my MBA. The brah I interviewed with was a CFA, CAIA, and MBA. He also was a professional card counter and competed in poker tournaments.
Sadly it didn’t pan out…
I was always under the impression that casino employees were not allowed to gamble in their, or any other, casino.
system
September 20, 2013, 2:33pm
#9
His linkedin made it clear as day he was an avid poker player. He also asked during the interview what games I played.
It may be different for corporate henchmen versus the pit bawss/dealer.
jaha
October 3, 2013, 6:09am
#10
Jim Murren, CEO of MGM Resorts International, is a CFA charterholder and he is running one of the biggest casino company in the world.
This should give a clear answer.
jaha:
Jim Murren, CEO of MGM Resorts International, is a CFA charterholder and he is running one of the biggest casino company in the world.
This should give a clear answer.
Well that settles that. Great post. I wish I could give a gold star or upvote.
jaha:
Jim Murren, CEO of MGM Resorts International, is a CFA charterholder and he is running one of the biggest casino company in the world.
This should give a clear answer.
You should post more often. To the point with facts.
He’s not listed in CFAI’s online directory, so he either let his charter lapse or has hidden his profile. So, the answer is once again cloudy.
Wendy
October 16, 2013, 4:43pm
#14
Yeah, it doesn’t actually say that Murren was an active CFA when he joined MGM…
http://www.economicclub.ca/speakers/JIm_Murren
From the careful wording…
“He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst certification in 1991…”
… I think we can extrapolate that Murren is a lapsed charterholder today.
geo
October 16, 2013, 8:47pm
#16
itera:
Investing isn’t too far from a casino. Each investment you make has odds of winning and losing. If investments valuations were 100% guaranteed to make or lose a certain amount of money, then all the asset managers, traders, research analysts may as well all just quit now.
Casino = known probabilities.
Financial world = unknown probabilities.
Lots of financial math actually would work better in a casino than in the real world as there would be fewer assumptions. That said, you’ll always lose.
waiguy
January 2, 2014, 11:59am
#17
many are already in NY and London.
Yes, a CFA Charterholder can run a casino, but they’d need to comply with local regulations and licensing requirements. The CFA designation focuses on finance and investment, not gambling laws, so understanding both is key.
guest
July 30, 2025, 7:19am
#20
Presumably the days of concrete galoshes and breaking people’s legs for counting cards are long gone.