ESA narrows lobbying focus

The Entertainment Software Association is spending more than ever on lobbying, but the gaming trade group's latest filing shows that the money is being spent to promote a more specific agenda than in years past.

According to filings with the Senate public records office, the ESA spent nearly $2.86 million to lobby members of the legislative and executive branches of the US government in 2007. That's up from $2.3 million in 2006 and $2 million in 2005.

The spending may be increasing, but the list of topics at issue for the trade group is actually shrinking. Subjects on which the organization has quit trying to influence lawmakers include online gambling, taxation of virtual property, and Internet privacy. Now all of the ESA's chosen causes fall under headings of constitutional issues (free speech, game restriction laws), copyright law (piracy, intellectual property, and patent litigation), and trade concerns (countries to sanction over piracy concerns, free-trade agreements, and regulatory concerns).

The ESA's lobbying expenditures topped those of a number of other entertainment trade groups. The Motion Picture Association of America's 2007 lobbying spend totaled $2.28 million, while the Recording Industry Association of America dropped $2.74 million to push its own agenda in Washington, DC. The Consumer Electronics Association, organizer of the CES trade show, spent $1.52 million to influence officials' stances on the government-mandated transition to digital television, energy efficiency, electronics recycling, and trade.