Freeman, 43, accepted a similar position with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, a Washington D.C.-based organization that speaks for food, beverage and consumer product companies.
Freeman is expected to stay on with the AGA until Aug. 1 to help with the transition. The Washington D.C.-based organization’s board of directors, currently headed by Penn National Gaming CEO Tim Wilmott, is expected to conduct a national search for Freeman’s replacement.
Freeman became just the second person to head the AGA when he took over in 2013 from Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., who helped found the organization in 1995. Freeman served as the chief advocate for the industry.
He encouraged the recognition of gaming’s role as a mainstream U.S. entertainment business that produces a yearly economic impact of US$240 billion, supports more than 1.7 million jobs, and provides US$38 billion annually in tax revenue to 40 states with commercial and American Indian operated casinos.
Freeman’s departure comes less than a month after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act unconstitutional, paving the way for states to legalize sports betting. He also placed the AGA front-and-center on several other issues during his tenure. The organization lobbied in support of legalized Internet gaming and marshalled the casino industry to cooperate and comply with federal anti-money laundering efforts.
Source: GMB
