GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 29 - July 2014

A bout 10 years ago, one of the biggest cheerleaders of the misguided attempt by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) tobanonline casino gambling was the American Gaming Association (AGA). TheAGA is a trade associationmade up of commercial casinos andmanu- facturers in the United States. Led at the time by Frank Fahrenkopf, the AGA lobbied hard to enact Goodlatte's "ban" (of course the horse racing, lottery and fantasy sports in- dustrieswereexempt), andeventually succeededwhen then-SenateMajority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) jammed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) down our throats by attaching it to the must- pass Security and Accountability for EveryPortAct. In late 2010, theAGA began to soften that stance. While many online gam- ing companies chose to leave the U.S. market after the passage of the UIGEA, others had taken their place, andonlinegamblingwas still thriving in theU.S., despite the "ban." Then, after Black Friday, the AGA crystallized its stance, saying that it was supportive of regulating the online poker industry. Fahrenkopf spoke in front ofCongress advocating that position; he spoke at trade shows and conferences (including online gambling conferences); he spokewith media, outlining all the reasons that the industry could – and should – ef- fectively regulateonlinepoker. Then, last year, when Geoff Freeman took over as AGA chief, the AGA's voice grew even stronger in support of regulation. He even called out Sheldon Adelson for his draconian approach to the subject. "We appreciate LasVegas Sands' sup- port of our organization and their membership, but we strongly op- pose their approach (to Internet gam- ing)," Freeman stated in an appear- ance before the National Council of Legislators fromGamingStates. This stance – indefiance of one of the AGA's strongest members – took a great deal of guts. Unfortunately for Freeman, itwas alsounsustainable. In May, the AGA backtracked from its vocal stance and said that itwould now stay out of the Internet gam- bling debate. It was a hypocritical, gutless thing to do. But we under- stand. In fact, we don't even blame Freeman (there's a reason theAGA is making the Wall of Shame here, and not Freeman). The AGA represents the entire com- mercial casino industry, and as a result, it's hard to take a stance on an issue when opinion is divided. But when one position makes sense and the other one doesn't, you've got to standup andbeheard. Freeman had one last closing salvo, when announcing the AGA's change in stance. "One of the things I've learned in this industry is we are extraordinarily competent at shooting one another," he said. "The snipers in this indus- try are of the highest quality and, if you let that be the focus, we'll kill eachother." Since theannouncement, theAGAhas been quiet on Internet gambling. The silence isdeafening. W allof S hame APCWWall of Shame