AGA CEO urges government to aid gaming industry

The AGA’s CEO argues that government financial assistance is necessary if the industry is to make a recovery from the pandemic.

US.- In his speech at the G2E 2020 conference, the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) president said the US gaming industry urgently needs financial assistance from the government.

Bill Miller urged the government to offer forms of financial assistance to casinos and their employees and a tax relief strategy to help businesses recover from the impact of the pandemic.

He said: “Over two weeks in March, every casino in America was closed by government-mandated shutdowns, impacting each of the 1.8 million jobs we support.

“Gaming workers, their families, and the small businesses that depend on us have all been hit hard, and our states and communities are feeling it, too. In addition to COVID’s impact on businesses, jobs, and the well-being of our families, friends and colleagues, state budgets have been decimated by the pandemic.”

Earlier this month, AGA government relations official Chris Cylke said election politics were complicating the possibility of a federal relief fund.