The ESA lobbied issues including anti-piracy, copyrighting, file-sharing, IP enforcement and other areas related to the games industry.
The total amount spent includes not only direct lobbying expenses, but also indirect expenses such as salaries, rent and other forms of overhead, according to section 162(e) of the Internal Revenue Code.
The ESA also enlisted four firms during the course of the year whose income counts towards ESA lobbying spend: Jenner & Block LLP, Telemedia, Monument and Smith-Free.
Below is a record of the ESA's lobbying spenditure in 2008.
Spreadsheet by Edge. Thanks to Gamasutra for the heads up.