The American Gaming Association, the brick-and-mortar gambling industry’s main lobbying group in the United States, held its annual Gaming Industry Washington Fly-In on Wednesday. This type of event, which is fairly common among political action groups, is essentially a Capitol Hill lobbying blitz in which organizational leaders travel to Washington, D.C. for the day, meet with lawmakers, and then leave.

A number of the gaming industry’s top brass participated, including:

Jim Murren – Chairman and CEO, MGM Resorts International
Patti Hart – CEO, International Game Technology
Gary Loveman – Chairman, CEO, and President, Caesars Entertainment Corporation
Jamie Odell– CEO and Managing Director, Aristocrat Leisure Limited
Tim Wilmott – President and COO, Penn National Gaming

Also attending were Drew Goldman, Managing Director of Deutsche Bank, and investment banker Bill Newby.

The goal of the fly-in was to advance certain issues in the halls of Congress and urge elected officials to take action. According to a press release, the AGA wanted to urge “Washington leaders to pursue legislation and public policy that will help bolster the economy and allow the gaming industry to continue creating new jobs.”

One of the primary concerns the AGA took to Washington was the desire to ban “internet casino games of chance” like blackjack, roulette, and craps, on the Federal level. The AGA does, however, favor the regulation of online poker and wants Congress to pursue new legislation that protects players and excludes “bad actors.”

According to Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas, the AGA came out in support of a poker-only approach more than two years ago. It is not exactly clear why the AGA wants to ban online casino gaming. The AGA’s website, for example, states, “The AGA believes that the technology now exists to properly regulate internet gambling with appropriate law enforcement oversight and to provide appropriate consumer protections for individuals gambling online.”

It goes on to say that the AGA will evaluate legislation on a case-by-case basis, so it’s possible that the organization has decided to hitch its horse to the online poker wagon simply because it will be easier to see online poker approved by Congress, as opposed to all internet casino gambling.

The AGA recently showed its teeth in regards to its desire to keep “bad actors” out of U.S. online gaming. In March, it filed a brief with the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and Division of Enforcement to express its opposition to the Rational Group’s petitionfor Interim Casino Authorization (ICA) in the Garden State. The Rational Group, parent company of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, had filed the application after agreeing to purchase the beleaguered Atlantic Club in Atlantic City.

In a nutshell, the AGA did not want a company that had continued to operate in the U.S. after the UIGEA, and one that was subject to a civil forfeiture action by the U.S. Government, to be allowed to apply for a gambling license in New Jersey. The deal to purchase the casino ended up falling throughand the Rational Group was never granted an ICA. Instead, the company partnered with Resorts in Atlantic City in a deal still pending state approval.

The AGA had other issues on the agenda for the fly-in that didn’t necessarily have much to do with online poker. Industry heads wanted to discuss immigration reform, which includes border security and employment opportunities for immigrant workers. In addition, the AGA has concerns about tax policy. It wants to see the corporate income tax rate reduced, “industry-specific tax preferences” eliminated, and the full deductibility of ordinary and necessary business expenses.

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