Poker Internet

Head of the most powerful gaming industry lobby explains the view from Capitol Hill and the American Gaming Association’s vision for federal online poker legislation. In 1995, in response to a proposed tax increase for casino revenue nationwide, the imperiled operators opted to momentarily put competition aside and band together to form the American Gaming Association and defend their interests. Its founder, Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., a seasoned gaming attorney who had also been Republican National Committee chairman for most of the 1980′s, volunteered to serve as the CEO of the trade organization for a period of one year. In 2012, he is entering his 17th consecutive year. The AGA’s position on online gaming, which for years has mirrored the one taken by most of the casino industry, has gone from one of explicit disapproval (“The AGA is opposed to all forms of Internet gaming because we do not believe the technology exists to properly regulate it with appropriate law enforcement oversight.”) to one of active support and lobbying for federal online poker legislation today. Although much of the work it is doing is ultimately for the benefit of American poker players, the AGA is primarily a lobby for gaming companies (it represents over fifty of them), without a grassroots element. Mr. Fahrenkopf’s appearance on The Gaming World on March 21, 2012, marks the first time the American Gaming Association has addressed the online poker community so directly and extensively since the …