{"id":18937,"date":"2014-03-01T17:30:33","date_gmt":"2014-03-01T17:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=18937"},"modified":"2014-12-03T16:14:15","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T00:14:15","slug":"gaming-consultants-and-the-casino-industry-too-inbred-critics-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/gaming-consultants-and-the-casino-industry-too-inbred-critics-claim\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaming Consultants and the Casino Industry Too Inbred, Critics Claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"MGM
MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren (shown here, blue tie-left, at the Las Vegas opening of CityCenter’s Aria Casino in 2009) says the casino industry is by nature a close-knit one, but some critics say it’s too inbred to regulate itself (Image: Ethan Miller\/Getty Images North America)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Opponents of gambling in the U.S. have become critical of the way that some new state jurisdictions are employing consultants who – they say – have hidden agendas and are often employed by pro-gambling lobbies. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Too Close for Comfort<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Cash-strapped states are turning to industry consultants to advise them about whether to legalize gambling in order to bolster their coffers. These companies will often draft legislation, set up commissions and make decisions about which operators might be suitable licensees. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But many of these consultants’ industry connections are just a little too close to the casino business for the comfort of the anti-gambling brigade, which has declared that private companies that are hired to vet operators should not have a \u201ccozy relationship\u201d with the casinos they are meant to be scrutinizing, nor should they be acting as gambling industry regulators.<\/span><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This week, the issue was brought to light in the case of law consulting firm Shefsky & Froelich<\/a> (which recently became part of Taft) – hired by Massachusetts to help the state decide who should build its first casino in Springfield. Shefsky & Froelich recommended MGM Resorts International, for which it was already working as a registered lobbyist in Illinois. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s believed that at least 16 states across the U.S. rely on private companies as consultants. So, could it be that these states, looking for a quick fix, and desperate to get their new casinos up and running as quickly as possible, are moving towards a form of semi-privatization of gambling? It\u2019s certainly not the way things are done in states in which gambling is more established, such as Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, where regulation is famously stringent.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, Massachusetts regulators – still relatively new to the land casino game – have been, if anything, roundly criticized by industry executives as being far too stringent and nitpicky, rather than the opposite; taking away some credence from anti-gaming critics’ arguments.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Who’s Watching Who?<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Illinois Gaming Board spokesman Gene O\u2019Shea recently measured into the debate, saying: \u201cHow do you vet your consultants? If a lot of these consultants, at one time or another, have worked for the people that\u00a0you\u2019re in charge of regulating, at some point, you\u2019re going to have issues with the purity of the investigation.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, spokesman for the Florida non-profit organization No Casinos<\/a>, John Sowinski, attacked the practice in the state of Florida, which is currently seeking to expand its casino offerings beyond tribal gaming and racing, saying: \u201cThe gambling industry is the one industry that seems to get away with this conflict of interest carte blanche.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Managing director of Spectrum Gaming Michael Pollock – who represents one of the biggest gambling consultant firms in the U.S., which recently completed a study for Florida – negated the claims, however, saying, \u201cYou cannot be in this business if you\u2019re willing to entertain conflicts of interest or even an appearance of a conflict.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe make it clear from the outset that we are not necessarily going to tell you what you want to hear, we\u2019re going to tell you what you need to know. And we will not entertain an engagement in which a client seeks a particular outcome,\u201d Pollock added.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

MGM CEO Jim Murren says the allegations are based on an outsider\u2019s misconception of the gambling industry, which he says is close-knit: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a huge industry, and gaming law is highly specialized,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are only maybe four or five firms that are experts in gaming law, and we know them all, and we\u2019ve probably used them all.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It seems that the casino consulting business is somewhat incestuous, but whether that\u2019s simply the nature of the industry or something more sinister, is up for debate depending on your views. What is clear, however, is that it\u2019s big business. Spectrum Gaming began life in a New Jersey basement back in 1996 and has since been named one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Its website declares that: \u201cGovernments, gaming operators, developers and investors in five continents have retained Spectrum, and we stand ready to serve clients through our offices in Atlantic City, Bangkok, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Macau, Manila and Tokyo.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Opponents of gambling in the U.S. have become critical of the way that some new state jurisdictions are employing consultants who – they say – have hidden agendas and are often employed by pro-gambling lobbies. Too Close for Comfort Cash-strapped states are turning to industry consultants to advise them about whether to legalize gambling […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":18952,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGaming Consultants and the Casino Industry Too Inbred, Critics Claim<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With only a few key gaming consultants across the U.S., some critics say the the casino industry is too inbred for its own good.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gaming Consultants and the Casino Industry Too Inbred, Critics Claim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"With only a few key gaming consultants 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