Combating Illegal Gambling
Driving Action Against
Illegal Gambling
AGA is committed to stopping illegal gambling by partnering with law enforcement and lawmakers to develop national, state, and local opportunities for action and engagement. AGA’s research on all forms of illegal gambling helps strengthen partnerships with elected officials, law enforcement, and regulators to combat this national problem that’s siphoning tax revenues from states and localities and tarnishing our highly regulated industry’s reputation.
We stop and thwart illegal gambling by partnering with law enforcement and policymakers. With the help of AGA research, we continue to strengthen partnerships with elected officials, law enforcement and regulators to combat this national problem.
Sizing the Illegal and Unregulated Gaming Markets in the U.S.
The legal gaming industry is among the most highly regulated industries in America. AGA estimates that Americans bet more than $510.9 billion a year with illegal and unregulated operators. This costs the legal industry $44.2 billion in gaming revenue and state governments $13.3 billion in lost tax revenue.
To empower the industry and its allies in the fight against illegal gambling, the AGA launched StopIllegalGambling.org as a way to highlight statistics on the detrimental effects of illegal gambling and equip users with effective tools to identify illegal operators.
Encouraging Department of Justice to Crack Down on Illegal Gambling
In a letter to the U.S. Attorney General, the AGA outlines the pervasive nature of illegal gambling and the threat these unregulated operators pose to consumers, state economies and the legal gaming industry as part of the association’s ongoing initiative to stamp out the illegal market.
Eradicating Illegal Sports Betting
How offshore operators—and those who support them—break U.S. law.
For decades, regulated sportsbooks in Nevada offered the only legal sports betting in the U.S. However, with the advent of the internet, illegal bookies have taken advantage of lax or even non-existent laws in other countries to set up online sportsbooks that target American customers. These illegal sportsbooks prey on unsuspecting Americans, despite claims of regulation and licensure in their home countries.
How Unregulated Gaming Machines Endanger Consumers
The robust licensing and operational standards for all gaming companies are essential to the casino gaming industry’s success. Unfortunately, unregulated and illegal gaming machines continue to proliferate across the country and threaten the economic benefits and consumer protections provided by the regulated industry.
AGA’s white paper provides an overview of the regulatory environment for the casino gaming industry, specifically gaming machines found on the casino floor, and analyzes how those standards ensure consumer safety while generating significant tax revenue for states.