The American Gaming Association last week announced a new campaign to demonstrate the strength of numbers of casino employees across the nation when it launched “Gaming Vote,” designed to educate employees and politicians alike.
The public relations campaign will emphasize the economic benefits of the casino industry and point out to presidential candidates that casino workers vote and their voices should be heard.
“The 2016 presidential candidates will wage their campaigns in the casino gaming industry’s backyards—including at national nominating conventions in the casino cities of Philadelphia and Cleveland next summer,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA. “Our Gaming Votes initiative will mobilize our workforce, highlight the path to the middle class that our industry provides and emphasize our commitment to strengthening communities across the United States.”
And in a year when both parties are focusing on the middle class, the AGA has released a new study showing just how important the gaming industry is to the middle class. A new Oxford Economics report, “Gaming Careers: A Path to the Middle Class,” illustrates the importance of gaming in providing opportunities that otherwise wouldn’t exist for hundreds of thousands of voters across the country.
Freeman told reporters that the campaign will seek to educate candidates on the facts of the gaming industry and what the industry means to the communities in which it is located. He stopped short of saying that the organization would endorse any candidates.
“In all of our efforts,” says Freeman, “we seek to educate. We’ll give the facts of the issues and let our employees decide for themselves who they want to vote for.”
The campaign will feature local events in political battleground states such as Iowa, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio and others, according to AGA.
