Frank Fahrenkopf on founding the American Gaming Association and prediction markets

Frank Fahrenkopf, founder and former president and CEO of the American Gaming Association (AGA), led the lobby for 18 years after casino executives turned to the former Republican National Committee chairman. In a Gaming Legacy interview with GGB's Roger Gros, he recalls building the AGA and discusses prediction markets and US politics.

In this episode

• He saw every industry had lobbyists except gaming, amid rumours the Clinton administration wanted to raise its taxes; he agreed to run the AGA "for just a year" and stayed 17 or 18 years (5:20, 5:52, 7:00).

• At the first board meeting he showed a photo of tobacco bosses taking the oath before Congress to sway members reluctant to tackle problem gambling, then funded research behind a "Chinese wall" (8:35, 9:30).

• He says the industry "came out in much better shape" from the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, while lotteries, which would not get involved, came out "very very badly" (11:06).

• He calls what prediction markets are doing "just incredibly bad", hopes states act first, then federal government, and opposes a federal sports betting czar (1:52, 3:18, 3:39).

• Not inviting tribes into the AGA at first was a mistake, he says; looking back, the tribes did a good job (24:12, 25:17).

• On politics, he urges people to "disagree agreeably" and says "you can't trust somebody if you don't know somebody" (37:37, 38:35).

Episode from the GGB Podcast by Global Gaming Business, published on YouTube by iGaming Business.