[image credit : WKMG]
Joe Brennan Jnr, Chairman of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) in the US, has claimed that the industry has been unable to come up with a ‘coherent narrative’ to support efforts to legalise online gambling across the country.
Brennan Jnr told delegates at the World Gaming Executive Summit in Barcelona, Spain, that the industry needs to adopt a uniform message to ensure it becomes part of the legislative process in the US.
“Legislators are bombarded by 100 issues a day that they’re expected to be experts on,” Brennan said.
“State legislators are facing huge time demands and [the online gaming industry] has to respect that, so you have to go to them and speak directly.
“The narrative should be ‘this how we contribute to the success of the existing land-based gaming industry, this is how we create jobs and improve your district and here’s the supporting data’. As an industry, you haven’t done it yet. You don’t respect the process.
“The fact is that people in this room have been rushing around trying to do deals with the casinos in Atlantic City. But you can’t find partners because you don’t have any friends there, in government. You’re just an adjunct, not part of the process.”
