trying to stop the spread of these games is very difficult and that stamping them out is virtually impossible . We ’ re putting a spotlight on the problem wherever we can whenever we can . And , in the last couple months , we , AGEM and the AGA , submitted letters to the U . S . Department of Justice as part of a public comment period on the Gambling Devices Act of 1962 , which requires all gambling device companies to register with the DOJ . And I guarantee you these shady companies producing these machines are not adhering to that law . We took the opportunity to address that and call out some of the specific companies by name so that DOJ could go check to see if they ’ re following the law .
You keep your members up to date on what ’ s happening in jurisdictions around the world , whether it be regulations , legislation or technical standards . How do you track these changes ? As I reflect on my time , I would say that certainly that is one of the most important things we did . It ’ s not just me who has done all this . We have people like Tracy Cohen , who ’ s our director of Europe , Connie Jones , our director of responsible gaming . And of course the officers who are the executives at the member companies . It was difficult for suppliers to get a seat at the table . If you go back to when AGEM began in 2000 , I do feel like these suppliers were always treated like second-class citizens .
The operators and the regulators were driving the bus on everything . They said to the suppliers , you ’ ll get your turn someday . But the reality is our influence has grown , and our ability to have a seat at the table in every regulated jurisdiction in the world has improved dramatically . And there are examples like Mexico . It ’ s been very frustrating , but the only constant with Mexico and the regulatory body SEGOB has been AGEM . The government officials and regulators turned over several times — staff and directors . We are still there trying to make a decent-to-very-good market . It has the potential to be very good .
We have a seat at the table with what ’ s happening in Japan . We just scored a major victory in Pennsylvania where we ’ ve been working on this issue where certain game types were being rejected by Pennsylvania ’ s lab . We worked on this for two and a half years . I have to give a shout out to Kevin O ’ Toole as the executive director of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board . He sent us a letter in December that thanked us for showing him the light of how to be flexible when it comes right to slot standards and slot regulations .
The AGA and AGEM come together to address important issues . One of the recent presidents of the AGA suggested that AGEM be dissolved and its members just become part of the AGA . That didn ’ t come to pass , but why wasn ’ t it considered ? I think that we each have different missions , for one . The AGA was founded with the idea of federal issues with a Washington , D . C . -based organization , focused really on federal issues . For many years they wanted nothing to do with state issues . Well , these state issues are very important to our members when it comes to issues like regulations and the expansion of gaming . These suppliers are an important resource that ’ s making the global gaming industry what it is today .
There are companies that are members of both AGEM and AGA , and they can participate in different pursuits like the Wire Act , a federal issue where both the AGA and AGEM weighed in . And of course we ’ re partners with G2E . I think we got very lucky with the timing this year , and with the little break in the pandemic , the show was considered a success . AGEM gets a percentage of the revenue for our operations .
And just in the last few years the chairman of the AGA was a supplier with Gavin Isaacs and Trevor Croker . So they obviously recognize the leadership that these executives bring .
Yes , they bring that to the table as well . Like in other audiences , it was a bit of a slow slog to get there , but we ’ re there now .
AGEM is known for being very generous to charities , educational institutions and efforts , and conference sponsorships . How do you decide who is worthy of AGEM donations ? We have a mission statement that essentially mandates , in my opinion , that we focus on responsible gaming and education in particular . I think we have an obligation on the responsible gaming side as the gaming industry has grown so much globally . In some cases , the dedication to responsible gaming became an afterthought . And so it ’ s our job and it ’ s the right thing to do to support the handful of very effective and prominent responsible gaming organizations that deserve our support .
When you look at an organization like the Problem Gambling Center in Las Vegas , that ’ s a treatment facility that would struggle without our support . And then , you have the International Center For Responsible Gaming , which is more of a research group , and then you have the National Council For Problem Gambling , which is an educational group . They all have different missions . They all work together for a common goal .
Education ’ s the same . We ’ ve funded a whole series of scholarships with our contributions . Our signature contribution is a new building for the School of Engineering at the University of Nevada , Las Vegas . That ’ s a seed that you plant . And then it pays off because we need engineers .
Your big contribution to the ICRG is the golf tournament held every year . And you ’ ve been doing that for more than 20 years now . That ’ s a great event and everybody loves it , and we were able to do it at the end of September this year . We ’ ve raised over $ 2.2 million . It ’ s a great industry event for a good cause . The reality is that it goes to really good work that we need to focus on as an industry .
You ’ ve got an exciting year coming up for AGEM . Your replacement is going to be taking over in the beginning of March , and AGEM will have a new office at some point this year . How do you think the transition is going to work ? I ’ ll be somewhat of a lame duck for a little bit . My contract expires at the end of February 28 by design . The board did an extensive search , and Daron Dorsey , who was the general counsel for Ainsworth and has been an officer of AGEM for five years , was selected . He is a great candidate because of his institutional knowledge of what AGEM has done . He ’ ll start March 1 and we will move into the Black Fire Innovation Lab , which is at the UNLV Harry Reid Research and Technology Park . It ’ s going to be a great location for AGEM ; the energy in that building is palpable .
There are lots of good things coming up for AGEM .
Can you pinpoint one accomplishment that you ’ re most proud of during your time with AGEM ? It ’ s not really one . It ’ s the big picture ; it ’ s the seat at the table . We had to scrap and fight for our rightful place in this industry . I ’ m not discounting the brick-and-mortar facilities and the money that these palaces on the Strip and in Macau and around the country , around the world , bring in . These casino operators spend a fortune to get into the market .
But at the end of the day , the revenues are being generated for the most part by our machines , our tables and our technology . This has been a passion of mine . And again , I ’ m not taking sole credit for all this for just myself , but I was helping to drive this because I felt passionate about it . And I think the proof is in the pudding in terms of where we were in the early 2000s to where we are now .
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