The AGA and our members are making strides on responsibility efforts across multiple fronts, including diversity, equity and inclusion and responsible advertising. Below, please find details on these initiatives as well as additional AGA updates.

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AGA Reports on Diversity in the Gaming Industry

Yesterday, the AGA released an in-depth examination of diversity in the gaming workforce, showing the industry is more diverse than national and hospitality industry benchmarks, while identifying areas for continued progress.

The findings:

• More than 6 in 10 (61%) of gaming industry employees are minorities, compared to 52% of the broader hospitality industry and 42% of the total U.S. workforce.
• 23% of gaming employees are Hispanic and 19% are Black—both higher than the national workforce and in line with the hospitality industry.
• 60% of operator employees are minorities, up nearly 20% from 2011 and higher than the hospitality sector and national workforces overall.
• 45% of gaming manufacturer employees are minorities, compared to 38% of the broader electronic manufacturing workforce.

Dive Deeper: While gaming has a significantly more diverse management pipeline than the broader hospitality industry and total U.S. workforce, the industry has opportunities to advance female representation and leadership.

• 45% of first/mid-level managers are minorities while 43% of professionals are minorities, both 10 to 12 points above national and hospitality benchmarks.
• 48% of gaming’s workforce is female, in line with the national workforce, but representation drops off at more senior level job classifications.

Download the full report and stay tuned for more from the AGA as we work to advance DEI in gaming in the months and years to come.

AGA Updates Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering

In March, the AGA announced updates to its Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering. Developed in collaboration with our members, these changes:

• Enhance protections for college-aged audiences by:
• Prohibiting college partnerships that promote, market or advertise sports wagering activity (other than to alumni networks or content focused on responsible gaming initiatives or problem gambling awareness).
• Prohibiting sportsbook NIL deals for amateur and college athletes.
• Add age restrictions (21+) for any individual featured in advertising.
• Change all references to the “legal age of wagering” in the Code to 21+.
• Ban all use of “risk free” in advertising.

Why it matters: These updates raise the bar for responsible advertising and demonstrate our membership’s intention and ability to evolve as the still nascent legal U.S. sports betting market grows. The code updates also formalize an annual review process, ensuring the industry can continue to stay agile as we navigate market expansion and build a sustainable sports betting environment.

What we’re saying: “Advertising plays an essential role in migrating consumers away from predatory illegal sportsbooks and into the protections of the legal, regulated market while providing responsible gaming resources. The AGA and our members are committed to building a sustainable marketplace that protects vulnerable populations and gives consumers the knowledge and tools to keep sports betting fun for adults.” – AGA President and CEO Bill Miller

What We’re Reading

• AGA CEO Bill Miller defends industry leadership on responsibility in The Hill.
• Senator Blumenthal (D-CT) commends AGA members in The New York Times.
• Agency EFE highlights diversity in the gaming industry workforce.
• Tech offerings bolster gaming’s global economic impact, AGEM study finds.
• UNLV study demonstrates how digital payments can strengthen problem gambling detection.

One More Thing

Kentucky recently became the first state to pass standalone legislation to ban unregulated gambling machines. The Bluegrass State joins Virginia in taking proactive government action to eliminate these pervasive bad actors, which take advantage of consumers and communities by posing as legal, regulated slots.

More than 580,000 of these machines exist throughout the U.S., according to AGA estimates. Read our full study.