Lobbying, the legal way of getting things done, but one which still leaves a bad taste in people’s mouths for some reason. Why is that? Why is lobbying considered to be something bad? Well, mostly because money is spent to influence decisions of people in various positions, political most of the time. 

Plenty of people result to lobbying, and even though it is not something illegal, it is often thought of with a frown on one’s face. There are plenty of industries which result to lobbying, not just individuals.

Among the top 20, would you believe it, you will not find casinos or bookmakers. Sure, some casinos and bookmakers will result to promotions and promotion codes, like these promotion codes for Ladbrokes, but other than that, they don’t even break the top 20.

Speaking of which, here are the industries which spend the most on lobbying.

The Pharmaceutical Industry – Including Health Products

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anybody who knows anything about the pharmaceutical industry. If they are good at something, that is placing their products on the market and selling them. Their overall yearly expenditure is almost 4 billion dollars, coming up short only 63 million dollars.

People often consider this industry to deal only with drugs and medications but that is not the case. This industry is often connected to healthy products, namely dietary supplements. Some products are worth spending lots of money on lobbying, especially if you take a look at the annual expense across the industry.

The Insurance Industry

There is nothing like a bit of insurance which can go a long way, especially if you end up cashing up on a minor accident. While people expected pharmaceuticals to be at the top of the list, insurance was not among the expected industries, yet there it is, sitting at 2 billion and 700 million dollars, which, to be fair, is an entire billion and then some less than the pharmaceutical industry’s expenses. Insurance apparently has to pay for lobbying, and not just people cashing in on it.

Electric Utilities and Electronics Manufacturing Industries

While these are two separate industries, they sit relatively close to one another in terms of annual expenses. While electric utilities pays around 2 billion and 353 million dollars annually, the electronic industry pays around 2 billion and 230 million dollars annually. One hundred million dollars is a lot, but when looking at the entirety of an industry as a whole, the sum becomes insignificant.

The electric industry spends money on waste storage and air regulation while the electronics industry spends money on anything from cybersecurity to copyright.

These are but some of the industries which partake in lobbying. The other, in order, are Oil and Gas, Manufacturing and Distributing, Education, Hospitals, Investment Companies, Telecommunication, Real Estate, and so on and so forth. Almost any industry will spend money on lobbying when necessary, but the above-mentioned ones are the top spenders.

People like a bit of gambling here and there. Without tossing the dice or spinning the slot machines, some people cannot really live their lives normally. That might be problematic, but it is often the truth. On the other side, people like to occasionally gamble online, browsing the various betting promos to find a casino or sportsbook which suits their needs.

On the business side of things, things can get a bit dicey, pardon the pun, and sometimes out of control. People like money and some like it far too much, so they decide to step over a couple of lines, break a few laws and earn themselves a sentence in prison.

Jack Abramoff did so, in a 2006 casino lobbying incident.

The 2006 Lobbying Incident – the Background

Casinos were very rarely allowed on US soil. The only states which had casinos were Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois, Louisiana, and Michigan. That is a relatively small number of states, compared to today, after 2018’s challenging of the PASPA Act, which was found to be unconstitutional.

But back in 2006, it was either Nevada, fully saturated with casinos, or Indian tribe territory. Yes, Indians were allowed to open casinos on their own territories. In 1979, the Seminole tribe were the first to open a casino. Very soon, other tribes followed, realizing that it is a very lucrative business. Since most of the tribes’ territories were close to larger cities, people only had to travel a short while to get to the casinos. They were also a tourist attraction, since you were visiting Indian territories.

But, Native Americans did not always have the success they wanted with opening Casinos. Such is the story of the Choctaw, Coushatta and Tigua tribes.

Lobbying – Influence Turned Corruption

While lobbying itself is not illegal, as it is the attempt to gain influence of representatives or even officials, their actions and decisions. The problem is that lobbying can often go too far, and turn into corruption, scamming and other crimes which end up hurting some people and sending others to prison.

Jack Abramoff had a lobbying team and he had lots of experience with influencing people.

The Choctaw tribe gained access to Abramoff, because they failed at their own lobbying attempts, with a goal related to income tax.

He gained the trust of various tribes who all had plans to open casinos, like the Coushatta, the Agua Caliente Band, the Sandia Pueblo and the Saginaw Chippewa, as well as the Tigua tribe.

His plan was formed in early 2001, with an accomplice Michael Scanlon, to which they referred to as “gimme five”. The plan was to build Scanlon’s firms to have at least 3 million dollars revenue and to have them acquired at triple the price. Apart from that, derogatory terms were used when referring to Native American, often calling them monkeys and idiots in emails sent to his partners.

Abramoff and his partners scammed around 85 million dollars out of all their clients. Abramoff was put on trial in 2006.

The Trial and Sentence

Abramoff pleaded guilty to conspiracy, tax evasion and fraud, in 2006. They had to repay a fine of 25 million dollars to the tribes they wronged. Abramoff himself was sent to a 5 year sentence in prison. Actually, he served 5 years and 10 months in prison. He got out in 2011 and started working as a lobbyist again. He then described his previous work as legalized bribing, which is still present to an extent.

Lobbying is often the talk of many, especially when it comes to politics and anything related to business. It is often frowned upon, and with a good reason. The line between lobbying and breaking several laws is very, very thin.