AGA applauds decision to allow gaming companies to apply for Small Business Loans

The Small Business Administration (SBA) released revised regulatory guidelines last week that permit size-eligible small gaming entities to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). 

Earlier this month, the American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting his “immediate intervention” to address the Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP) Interim Final Rules released by the SBA on April 2. He said those rules "rely on antiquated, discriminatory policy that renders small gaming entities ineligible to receive critical loan assistance designed to help small businesses pay their employees."

In the letter, Miller says the gaming industry is among the sectors most severely impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, mainly due to mandated closure of facilities, which affected 1.8 million Americans across 43 states.

Two weeks after that, when the SBA issued revised interim regulatory guidelines, Miller stated that while these changes represented some progress, "they fall woefully short of fully addressing antiquated, discriminatory policies" that are restricting small gaming companies from accessing the loan support made available through the CARES Act.

Finally, after the inclusion of small gaming entities in the PPP last week, the association issued the following statement:

“In the nearly one month since the CARES Act was enacted to provide economic relief to blunt the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Gaming Association and our allies have fought tirelessly to correct the Small Business Administration’s antiquated policy that precluded gaming companies from qualifying for loans through the Paycheck Protection Program. We are pleased that the new regulatory guidelines released today make small gaming companies eligible for this critical program just as Congress has replenished its funding.

“I’m grateful to President Trump and his administration for recognizing that commercial and tribal gaming industry employees deserve the same support available to other small businesses, and for the significant, sustained efforts of members of Congress to amplify the need for changes to the guidelines to get small gaming operators and their employees through this challenging time.”