AGA's CEO Bill Miller, SVP Chris Cylke named Top Lobbyists 2020

US news website The Hill on Thursday named American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller; and Senior Vice President, Government Relations Chris Cylke to its annual Top Lobbyist list for 2020. The list highlights “the people who stand out for delivering results for their clients in the halls of Congress and in the administration.”

“This recognition comes at the end of the gaming industry’s most challenging year, where historic wins in Washington played an essential role in our recovery,” AGA said in a statement. 

The association also outlined some of the main achievements for the year. It has helped ensure gaming’s historic inclusion in the CARES Act which provided tax relief; opened access to critical capital; provided direct economic support for millions of American workers and their families; and offered vital stabilization funding for tribal governments.

AGA also compelled the Small Business Administration to overturn discriminatory guidelines for the Paycheck Protection Program, allowing size-eligible small gaming entities to participate in this lifeline. Furthermore, it grew the Congressional Gaming Caucus, led by Reps. Dina Titus (NV-01) and Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14), to 35 bipartisan members from 18 states, and continued to build champions in Congress and the administration. The AGA also noted it has worked to protect sports betting from federal intervention, including during AGA’s testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee in July.

“The AGA—with Miller and Cylke’s leadership—continues to fight for additional COVID relief from Congress and advance priorities to accelerate gaming’s recovery,” the association concluded.