European Gaming Lawyer magazine Autumn 2016 | Page 19

Gaming Commission in 1993. With the
Tax Commission, he was responsible for
developing internal controls and auditing
the casinos during the early days of gaming
in Mississippi. Mr. Godfrey states, “I was
fortunate to be in the division that was
tasked with the regulation of this new
industry. I worked closely with the industry
professionals and developed a working
relationship with them as the market grew.”
He further states of this period in his career
that he enjoyed the early years, “as the
learning curve was straight up for me and
many others. It was an exciting time to be
a young man in a position to work with
such professionals as those that work in
the gaming industry.” Mr. Godfrey now has
nearly twenty-five years of public service
with the State of Mississippi.
Allen Godfrey has served as Executive
Director of the Mississippi Gaming
Commission since 2011. He first came
to the Mississippi Gaming Commission
in 2003, serving much of that time as
Deputy Director. Of these early years, then
Executive Director Larry Gregory states:
“Allen served as my deputy director while
I was executive director of the Mississippi
Gaming Commission, a position I leaned
on heavily in my day to day operations
at the MGC. Time and again, he handled
every issue and transaction with the utmost
integrity and dedication, always reaching
every decision with great thought and
reason, always balancing what was best for
the state with what was fair to the industry.
He has continued to operate in this manner
in his position as executive director, and this
leadership has resonated throughout the
country, as gaming companies respect his
oversight and direction of gaming regulation
in our state.”

During his tenure with the commission,
Mr. Godfrey has been instrumental in
guiding the industry through continued
growth, as well as assisting the industry to
overcome several disasters. He was involved
in the State’s efforts to rebuild the coastal
casinos after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He
also had to help lead the industry through
the major Mississippi River flood of 2011
that impacted multiple casinos along the
Mississippi River and the BP oil spill of 2010
that affected the Mississippi coastal gaming
market. Of these difficult times, Godfrey
states, “During and after each of these
events, I watched as each gaming operator
paid their employees for months after the
event happened, and it really showed me
what good companies they were, run by
compassionate people, and it impressed me
tremendously.” Director Godfrey evidently
has respect for those he regulates.
Since he took over as Executive
Director in 2011, he has spearheaded new
regulations aimed at requiring increased
non-gaming amenities at casinos to drive
tourism and economic development. Mr.
Godfrey served on the State Taskforce
on Internet Gaming and Sports Betting
which was assembled in 2014 to assess
the prospects of online gaming and sports
betting in the State. Recently, Allen was
again asked to sit on a task force to evaluate
recent laws passed to allow Daily Fantasy
Sports in Mississippi. He is regularly called
upon to speak at gaming conferences
around the country and is looked upon
by his peers as a person of great
leadership and high moral
character. Mississippi
is considered to
have a strong and
stable regulatory

environment, and much of that is owed to
the achievements and contributions that
Allen Godfrey has made to the industry.
(Excerpt from recommendation).
Asked about the challenges of a
regulator in general, Director Godfrey
states t