First in an exclusive series examining the AGA’s Strategic Plan
One year after Harry Reid’s retirement from Congress, the gaming industry is still looking to fill his shoes.
The former Nevada Democratic senator was for decades a staunch advocate of the casino gaming industry in the nation’s legislative body, particularly from his powerful perch as Senate Majority Leader.
Given former Senator Reid’s then-lofty status in government, finding a replacement to step in and fill the void has proved all but impossible, and as a result the American Gaming Association has been taking a running-back-by-committee approach to developing a wider network of industry champions who might advocate for gaming interests in Congress.
“For many years, we had the worst of both worlds, in the sense that we put all of our eggs in one basket and our message was (just) ‘Keep Washington out of our business,” said AGA President Geoff Freeman in an interview with CDC Gaming.
That over-reliance on Reid’s stature didn’t force the industry to create a more compelling message highlighting the value it brings to communities in which it operates, and it subsequently became lethargic when it came to recruiting and engaging other members of Congress.
“Harry Reid and the Nevada delegation, for years, did an incredible job of protecting and promoting the industry, but it sort of left us with a pretty bare cupboard upon Reid’s departure,” Freeman explained.
Restocking that cupboard is a core tenet of the AGA’s 2020 Strategic Plan as the group strives to accelerate efforts to build relationships with members of Congress and develop a broader coalition of advocates within the body.
The push to legalize sports betting over the past year has helped to bring a new and exciting energy to that endeavor, but Freeman insists that the industry needs to do a better job of communicating the granular, nuts-and-bolts impact that casinos can have on the congressional districts in which they operate.
“If you look at the properties and the individual communities where they operate, they’re not just tremendous job creators, they’re often the venues that host local events and attract local leaders,” he said. “Everybody knows the casinos and the general managers of these properties.”
While the gaming industry has significantly improved relationships in recent years with members of the Congressional Black Caucus, such as Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, as well as members of other key committees, Freeman conceded that “We still have a long way to go.”
One focal point, he argued, is to better communicate to the industry why Washington matters.
“When we talk to the leaders of these properties, they know why the city council is important; they know why the state assembly is important; they know why the mayor and the governor are important. But they often have more than an arms’ length relationship with their member of Congress,” Freeman said.
He offered a model example of a congresswoman from Ohio who, until recently, had never interacted with the casino in her district.
“She said ‘We go to this casino. My mother loves this casino, and yet the casino’s never used me. They’ve never worked with me,’” Freeman described, noting that once the casino took the initiative to build that relationship, the results were encouraging.
“Now she’s telling me about the great relationship she has with the property and the general manager. It was a great example of what we need to do.”
