The Gambling Industry's Political Clout

The gambling industry has quickly become a potent force in local, state and national politics. Gambling lobbyists now swarm the halls of Congress and state capitols from California to Connecticut The industry has hired many of the most high-powered and influential political players in the nation to push for gambling-friendly legislation. Further, they have showered millions of dollars on political candidates and officeholders, both Republican and Democrat, in an aggressive attempt to curry political favor. Following are just a few examples of the tremendous money and influence wielded by this rapidly expanding political force.

  • Gambling interests gave $3.9 million in soft money contributions to the two major political parties in 1996. (Common Cause, "Gamblers Unanimous: Gambling Interests Tripled Their Soft Money Giving in 1996," June 26, 1997.)
  • At least two dozen lobbyists represented the gambling industry in the Louisiana legislature in 1997, including several former legislators -- one a former Senate president -- and associates of two previous governors. (Alan Sayre, "Gambling Has Prominent Lobbyists," Baton Rouge Advocate, March 27, 1997, p. 10A.)
  • Gambling lobbyists in Illinois have included a former governor, former director of state police, former state attorney general, two former U.S. attorneys, former Chicago mayor, and dozens of former state legislators -- including a Senate president and House majority leader. (Kevin Sack, "Gambling's New Winnings," New York Times, December 18, 1995, p. B12.)
  • Gambling interests spent $2.7 million to lobby California legislators and agencies in 1995. (Clark McKinley, "Gambling Spending Limit Bill Fails," United Press International, May 24, 1996.)
  • In 1995, the gambling industry hired 48 lobbyists to push gambling in Virginia's legislature. (Sack, op. cit.) That same year, the industry bankrolled 74 lobbyists to work the Texas legislature. (Ibid.)
  • Casino gambling interests donated $600,000 to Illinois politicians in 1996, right in advance of a critical legislative session concerning gambling. (Kevin McDermott, "Casino Firms Boost Campaign Donations," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 11, 1997, p. 1A.)
  • The gambling industry paid $938,000 to lobbyists in the Maryland legislature during the 1997 legislative session. ("Gambling Lobbyists: Rich and Relentless," Baltimore Sun, June 6, 1997, p. 28A.)
  • Indian tribes spent at least $4.2 million to protect their gambling interests via lobbying and campaign contributions in 1996, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. (Jim Drinkard, "Indians Spent $4.2 Million to Lobby," Associated Press, July 28, 1997.)
  • In 1995, casino companies created the American Gaming Association, hiring some of the most powerful Washington insiders to lobby Capitol Hill on gambling. Frank Fahrenkopf, Jr., former Republican National Committee chair, earns an estimated annual salary of $750,000 as AGA executive director. (Jeff German, "Fahrenkopf Looking to Strengthen Marriage with Gamers," Las Vegas Sun, May 22, 1997, p. 3A.) Others AGA lobbyists have included former Reagan White House chief of staff Ken Duberstein; former Ohio Democratic Congressman Dennis Eckart; Judy Kern Fazio, wife of California Democratic Representative Vic Fazio; Charles L. Kinney, former chief floor counsel to former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell; Don Fierce, a top aide to former Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour; and Charles Black, a senior adviser to Presidents Reagan and Bush. (Keith White, "Casino Interests Hire Big Names to Shape Gambling Study Commission," Gannett News Service, May 3, 1996.)
  • Rhode Island-based Gtech, the nation's largest lottery operator, paid $11 million to lobbyists and consultants in 1993 alone. (R. G. Ratcliffe, "Is Gtech's Number up in Texas?" Houston Chronicle, March 8, 1997, p. Al.)
  • Mirage Resorts spent more than $10 million on a failed four-year lobbying and public relations campaign to put a casino in Bridgeport, Connecticut. (Ibid.)
    Gambling has already become the single most powerful lobbying group in many state legislatures, according to "U.S. Gambling Study" author Robert Goodman. (Robert Goodman, The Luck Business (New York: Free Press, 1995), p.190.)
  • Ladbroke Racing Corp. lavished $25,000 in political contributions on at least 34 Michigan legislators and key political groups the week before bidding for a Detroit casino license. (Kenneth Cole, "Gaming Giant Gives Gifts to Legislators," Detroit News, March 5,1997, p. Dl.)
  • Two political insiders in Illinois, including an aide to a U.S. Representative, were offered $20 million from a gambling company if they could secure a single casino license in the state. (Tom Pelton and Ken Armstrong, "Court Documents Show Casino Bet Big on Illinois," Chicago Tribune, March 28,1995, sec. 1, p.1.)
  • A 1997 investigation by Mother Jones magazine found that the gambling industry had spent in excess of $100 million in political contributions and lobbying fees in the previous five years in an attempt to influence state governments. (Martin Koughan, "Easy Money," Mother Jones, July/August 1997, p.35.)

    Back to Gambling Briefs List