Frank Fahrenkopf
Former President, CEO and Founder, American Gaming Association
When casino gaming began to spread across the United States, the industry had no representation in Washington, D.C. So casino executives turned to Frank Fahrenkopf, former chairman of the Republican Party during the Reagan administration.
It was supposed to be a short-term appointment. But Fahrenkopf spent 18 years at the helm of the American Gaming Association.
In the latest Gaming Legacy Podcast, Fahrenkopf sat down with GGB Editor-at-Large Roger Gros to discuss the formation and history of the AGA. He also touched on some current issues in the gaming industry as well as the country.
To hear and view the full podcast, conducted at the Nantucket Yacht Club in Massachusetts, Fahrenkopf’s summer home, visit GGBMagazine.com or CasinoCommunication.com.
Before we get started on the AGA, let’s talk about the most serious issue the industry has faced in many years, the prediction markets. This seems like a real existential threat to gaming. It goes against everything you and the AGA stood for all these years.
Frank Fahrenkopf: No question. While most people scream that there’s too much regulation in any business, it’s the heart of our business. The gaming business exists and is trusted by the gaming public, people who like to go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City or wherever there are casinos. And it’s very, very important to maintain that trust.
These prediction companies are just incredibly bad, and so many offshore sites are taking bets without any regulation or consumer protection. The government has to do a better job closing this down, and I’m hoping that’s what’s happening now.
You always tried to avoid getting the federal government involved in gaming. Some people are suggesting now we need a federal czar overseeing sports betting and online gaming. Would that be good or bad for the industry?
No way. We’ve always maintained the states have to regulate gaming. We were afraid of getting the federal government involved. (In 1997), when the National Gaming Impact Study Commission was created, Paul Simon in the United States Senate, a Democrat, and Frank Wolf in the House, a Republican, were out to destroy the gaming industry. They didn’t want it to exist. That was the first real challenge the American Gaming Association had. But in the end, we came out of it very, very well.
Prediction markets are conducting illegal sports betting. But sports betting is legal in almost 40 states and territories now. Have we expanded too far? Is there something we can do to build more support among the public to fight illegal gambling from offshore sites and prediction market companies?
It’s a question of whether or not a company can evolve, expand and do well for its shareholders. Most are public companies, so you’ve got shareholders and Securities and Exchange Commission issues and other factors. Right now I don’t see any real dangers other than the prediction markets.
Remember, when we started out with some of the regional operations, not the big hotel casinos like we have in Vegas or Atlantic City, there was a question as to whether or not you could make money when mom and pop weren’t (able) to stay in a hotel. They would drive maybe two hours, have dinner, maybe see a show, play a couple of slots. But it would be difficult to make money. That prediction wasn’t right. More and more of them came. It’s a very profitable business in many, many states. But where it goes from here, I’m just not sure.
I think we’d be remiss to not ask you about the state of politics in the U.S. right now. We have a former casino owner as president, so that kind of ties in, but it seems like each side has been polarized. You were known for your bipartisan efforts. You co-founded the Presidential Debate Commission and are part of other bipartisan organizations. How did we get so far apart? And can we get together to work for the good of the country?
Frankly, I’m worried sick about it. After I left the AGA, I was invited by the Kennedy School at Harvard to come and run a seminar for a semester. And the class was told that my purpose was whether or not we could turn around what is now a situation where the Republicans and Democrats, many of them in the Senate and House, don’t know their fellow members of Congress. It just doesn’t exist.
There used to be a time during a break when a chairman of a committee in the House or a Senate would put together a delegation of maybe three or four Republicans, three or four Democrats and their wives and they’d get to know one another. You can’t trust somebody if you don’t know somebody. I got some very interesting remarks afterwards, saying how much they enjoyed it and how right it was. So hopefully some people who want to go forward will try to re-create this.
But it’s really tough right now. The way things are is disgraceful as far as I’m concerned. I’m really worried about my grandkids. What kind of country are we going to have? You know I’m a Republican. There are things the president is doing that I totally disagree with, but that doesn’t mean I hate him. Joe Biden made bad decisions as well, but that doesn’t mean I hate him. I still had a relationship with him. We need to get back to that mutual respect. Try to disagree agreeably, is what I like to say.
