It's not just the Lasers where it's creeping in.

There were several teams at the H-16 North Americans with the non-USCG approved Zhik PFDs. They were lucky that nobody protested, especially since the IHCA rules require "Each person on board shall carry a lifesaving device or Personal Flotation Device (PFD) approved by their country’s national authority or by the national authority having jurisdiction."

For races in the US, that's the USCG.