Thursday, November 16, 2006

The CEO and president of the American Gaming Association, Frank Fahrenkopf
sounded a positive note on the wider industry this week in an interview with
Reuters news agency on the political changes arising from the recent US
mid-term elections. The top gambling executive said that the new
Democrat-dominated Congress will put pro-casino politicians in key
leadership positions as the American Gaming Association considers a push to
study the legalisation of Internet gambling. "I think the change on balance
is positive," Frank Fahrenkopf, a former chairman of the Republican National
Committee told Reuters, adding that a major challenge of the trade group has
been educating legislators about the business, and "the new leadership is
familiar with our industry." Sen. Harry Reid, a moderate Nevada Democrat and
former casino regulator, was elected by colleagues this week as U.S. Senate
majority leader for the 110th Congress that will convene in January. "He
probably knows our industry better than anyone," Fahrenkopf said. The new
Republican leader in the Senate is expected to be Mitch McConnell of
Kentucky, a "gambling state" in Fahrenkopf's words. Sen. Trent Lott, a
Republican from Mississippi, where casinos dot the U.S. Gulf Coast, is
angling for the job of assistant minority leader in the Senate. In the
House, there will be "dramatic changes in committee chairmanships,"
Fahrenkopf said. Rep. Charles Rangel, the New York Democrat expected to
chair the Ways and Means Committee, has been to Las Vegas to tour the inner
workings of casinos "many, many times," according to the head of the gaming
association.

Rep. John Conyers, expected to head the Judiciary Committee, is from
Detroit, where he has seen "how casinos can benefit the economy," Fahrenkopf
said. Conyers was also the politician who attempted to interest Congress in
a study of online gambling last year.

Fahrenkopf also noted that Bennie Thompson, expected to chair Homeland
Security, is from Tunica, Mississippi.

And Massachusetts Democrat Barney Frank, who is expected to chair the
Financial Services Committee, has a libertarian approach to gambling and
does not believe that the U.S. should be telling people how to spend their
money, Fahrenkopf said.

The Gaming Association is expected to decide in December whether to pursue
legislation calling for an independent study of online gambling, says
Reuters.

"We think it might be time to see if there is a way to regulate and control
online gaming," Fahrenkopf said.

The arrests in the United States of executives from British companies
involved in online sports betting and passage in October of a U.S. law
barring banks from transactions involving Internet gambling have led most
legitimate operators to pull our of the U.S. market, he said.

"The goal was to protect U.S. consumers, but I think the impact has been the
exact opposite. The responsible companies have pulled out, only leaving
about 2 000 fly-by-night Web sites," Fahrenkopf said.