Five years ago, the American Gaming Association (AGA) membership was largely comprised of large commercial casino operators. Those entities founded the organization in 1994, and defending their interests in Washington – or better yet, keeping Washington out of their business – was our remit. A lot has changed. Not only have we taken a more progressive stance on tackling issues that are affecting our members across the country, we’ve expanded our membership to include a larger portion of the gaming supplier and tribal gaming communities. Central to the latter was enhancing our relationship with our now-partner, the National Indian Gaming Association (NIGA).
As NIGA convenes its annual meeting in Las Vegas this week – bringing together for the first time their robust and diverse membership in the capital of the commercial gaming industry – it is important to take note of how far our partnership has come in a relatively brief time, and the opportunities that exist when we work together.
Together, we are actively working to tackle federal prohibitions, outdated regulatory regimes and antiquated tax policies that affect tribal and commercial gaming alike. Since our first discussions in 2015, we have sought to break down those barriers within the gaming community and focus on our mutual success, making tremendous progress along the way. We’ve done this through increased communication and meaningful collaboration on business issues that affect both tribal and commercial casino operations.
AGA will collaborate with NIGA as we work to increase the antiquated slot tax threshold, address outdated shipping regulations, modernize the failed federal ban on sports betting, and advance anti money laundering efforts with FinCEN. All consequential issues for the business of gaming, and all areas where tribal and commercial gaming are making a real difference together.
Throughout AGA’s recent evolution, we’ve always insisted that there is more that unites us than divides us. As we approach NIGA’s annual meeting in Las Vegas – one that includes significant AGA participation – that couldn’t be more apparent. I’m looking forward to participating in a panel discussion with Chairman Stevens (a similar format to an event we did together at ICE in February). AGA is also hosting a roundtable for tribal gaming regulators, and we’ll be active on the sports betting portion of their program and in attendance throughout the week.
We value our continued and ever-enhancing relationship with NIGA and tribal gaming. As we’ve proven, together we can make significant gains that eluded us in the past.
