The gaming industry’s technology and world-class entertainment make it the embodiment of the 21st-century hospitality industry. Yet, casinos remain one of the most cash-intensive businesses in the world.
We are committed to working with regulators, policymakers and key stakeholders to advance payment modernization. Allowing customers to use digital payments in casinos provides the choice and convenience they have come to expect in their daily lives. It also bolsters regulatory efforts and provides innovative responsible gaming measures.
Introducing digital payments to the casino floor not only provides consumers with the choice they expect in their daily lives, but, importantly, bolsters responsible gaming efforts. See how responsible gaming measures are woven into the digital payments process––an important benefit of payments modernization.
Washington, D.C. – The American Gaming Association (AGA) released the third edition of its Best Practices for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance resource today. The updated document—reviewed and revised by the country’s top compliance professionals—builds on the gaming industry’s AML leadership and reflects new laws, technologies and indicators of criminal activity.
“As the methods and sophistication of financial crimes evolve, the gaming industry continues to spearhead efforts to combat money laundering,” said Alex Costello, AGA’s vice president, government relations. “An invaluable resource for our industry, this guide demonstrates gaming’s commitment to protect the U.S. financial system from money laundering and other forms of illicit finance.”
Since the last update to Best Practices in 2019:
To address these changes, Best Practices provides updated guidance, expanded red flag indicators, current compliance obligations, revised definitions and other essential information for gaming companies to maintain their strong AML regimes.
The casino gaming industry is recognized as a leader in AML compliance. In 2014, gaming became the first industry to collectively establish this comprehensive set of best practices for AML compliance. In 2021, the industry filed nearly 55,000 suspicious activity reports to aid law enforcement in fighting money laundering activity. In addition, the AGA represents gaming on the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group (BSAAG), a group organized by FinCEN to collaborate with stakeholders in the financial sector.
Bring the Play Smart from the Start messaging platform into your responsible gaming strategy to meet today’s players where they are.
Today’s players are savvy, mobile, and looking for entertainment on their terms. Play Smart from the Start is a new, research-backed messaging platform built to meet that mindset. It encourages players to make informed choices and develop habits that keep gaming fun—before every bet, every time.
This platform was developed based on deep customer insights, messaging tested with current players and built to be flexible, allowing for implementation across digital and in-person experiences. Whether you’re a casino, iGaming or sports betting operator, integrating Play Smart can help strengthen trust, boost player satisfaction, and reinforce your commitment to player-first entertainment.
While players are familiar with responsible gaming messaging, many think it is intended for “someone with a problem,” not them. Play Smart from the Start speaks directly to all players in a way that is relevant and resonates, grounded in three core concepts:
We’ve built an industry toolkit to help you bring Play Smart from the Start to life—whether you’re adding signage on the casino floor, integrating tips into your app, or training team members to support smart play.
Whether you’re building out a new responsible gaming strategy or refreshing your current efforts, the Play Smart from the Start toolkit makes it easy to embed player-first messaging into your operations. These ready-to-use materials are built to adapt to your needs and help you engage players clearly and consistently.
Ready to bring Play Smart from the Start to your players? We’re here to help.
Washington, D.C. – Gaming CEOs are optimistic about the industry’s continued growth and recovery, according to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Gaming Industry Outlook presented in partnership with Fitch Ratings.
More survey respondents (67%) rate the current business situation as “good” than six months ago (54%), while none describe it as “poor.” Meanwhile, four in ten CEOs expect the industry’s business climate to improve over the next two quarters compared to 13 percent that expect business conditions to worsen.
“Gaming executives are signaling confidence in our continued recovery that is in line with record-setting consumer demand for gaming,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “I’m optimistic that 2022 will see the return of a true sense of normalcy for gaming.”
While gaming CEOs are generally positive about the industry’s economic outlook, they also report macroeconomic impediments to business growth. Top concerns include:
Notably, COVID-19 and demand for meetings and events are no longer among the top five concerns for gaming CEOs.
“Like businesses across the country, our industry is grappling with supply chain, labor and inflation challenges that, if left uncontrolled, could dampen our continued growth and economic outlook,” added Miller.
The Gaming Industry Outlook includes two separate indices: the Current Conditions Index and the Future Conditions Index.
Current Conditions Index
Despite all-time high commercial gaming revenue through the first two months of 2022, the Current Conditions Index of 93.5 reflects a slowing in casino gaming-related economic activity compared to record industry growth in the fourth quarter of 2021. The index shows that the gaming industry has grown at an annualized pace of approximately 16.5 percent over the last three quarters.
Future Conditions Index
The Future Conditions Index stands at 101.1, reflecting anticipated expansion of casino gaming-related economic activity over the next six months at a modest 1.1 percent annualized rate—a return to normal industry growth after a year of tremendous industry expansion from pandemic-era lows in 2020.
Gaming Executive Panel
The majority of gaming CEOs surveyed (79%) expect the pace of wage and benefit growth to increase over the next three-to-six months, while 50 percent expect the pace of hiring to increase.
Among gaming operators, 53 percent plan to invest more capital than normal in hotel facilities in the coming year, while about one-third plan to invest more than normal in slots on the casino floor (27%) and brick-and-mortar sportsbooks (33%).
Suppliers report increased bullishness for sales growth over the next six months: 100 percent of respondents expect sales of gaming units for new or expansion use to rise; 86 percent expect sales of gaming units for replacement use to rise; and 71 percent expect the pace of their capital investment to rise.
About the Outlook
The AGA Gaming Industry Outlook is presented in partnership with Fitch Ratings and prepared biannually by Oxford Economics. It provides a timely measure of recent industry growth and future expectations. The Q1 2022 survey was conducted between March 21 – April 1, 2022. A total of 24 executives responded, including executives at the major international and domestic gaming companies, tribal gaming operators, single-unit casino operators, major gaming equipment suppliers and major iGaming and/or sports betting operators.
Fitch Ratings is acting as a sponsorship partner in connection with the AGA Gaming Industry Outlook. Views expressed herein do not represent analytical views of Fitch Ratings.
The expansion of legal US sports betting has increased revenues for the lucky few, but responsible gambling seems to only have been supported by a small percentage set aside for gambling treatment. In an often-complex journey to navigate by the consumer what needs to happen beyond just an advertising campaign?
Panelists:
President and CEO
CEO Roundtable: a fireside chat with the AGA and the CGA
The IAGA CEO Roundtable brings the leading executives of North America’s three largest gaming organizations together to discuss their opinions on the hot topics facing the industry within their respective markets. Covering a wide range of issues including what can and should be done to stop the proliferation of unregulated and unlawful gaming including grey machine proliferation, the lessons learned from the pandemic and their predictions for the year ahead, this is unique opportunity to hear from the leaders who help shape public policy and perception about gaming in all its forms.
Moderated by Daron Dorsey, the Executive Director for the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM), the panelists include:
Gambling advertising’s race to acquire customers: are we heading for a crash?
In late 2018, Italy’s advertising and communications regulator Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (AGCOM) introduced a blanket gambling advertising ban aimed at reducing rates of gambling addiction and ratcheting up player protection efforts. This quickly drew the attention of regulators and legislators elsewhere, resulting in tighter advertising restrictions or consideration of bans in other European countries. Given the exploding North American sports betting markets and the corresponding dramatic increase in player acquisition advertising, are we perilously heading toward a similar fate? This panel will take a deep dive into gambling advertising bans, debating issues like whether the European experience could be replicated in the US, whether bans or tighter restrictions have an impact on problem gambling, whether they represent a perceived or real failure of the industry to implement appropriate controls and safeguards, and what effect a bombardment of gambling advertising has on the industry’s reputation. Is gambling advertising a regulatory issue? A responsibility issue? Our panel will aim to answer these questions and more.
Moderated by Cait DeBaun, Vice President – Strategic Communications and Responsibility for the American Gaming Association (AGA), the panelists include:
This newly formed group will convene gaming industry chief marketing and communications officers for the first time. The group will first discuss the implications of the advancement of sports betting and consider a self-regulated advertising model. Going forward, the MarComms Working Group will work together on reputational, marketing and communication issues affecting the industry, and contribute to AGA initiatives in these core areas.
Gaming industry stakeholders and local media packed a lecture hall at UNLV’s International Gaming Institute to hear remarks from:
Resources
Press Coverage Summary
Las Vegas Review-Journal – AGA expanding code of conduct for responsible gaming
Gambling Compliance – Responsible Gaming Advocates Hope Lawmakers Pass Legislation To Help Consumers
Associated Press – Casino trade group updates rules to include sports betting
SBC Summit North America will bring together major players in the fast-growing North American sports betting and iGaming industry for two days of high-level discussions, business meetings, and networking. The event will featuring five American Gaming Association speakers:
WASHINGTON – The executive committee of the American Gaming Association (AGA) is pleased to announce the formation of a seven-member search committee to select the next chief executive of the gaming industry. The new CEO will replace Geoff Freeman, who will be departing the AGA as of the end of July to become president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association. Freeman has been president and chief executive officer of the AGA since May 2013.
The committee will be led by Tim Wilmott, CEO of Penn National Gaming and chairman of board. Its members will include:
“The gaming industry is widely recognized as among the most popular of consumer entertainment experiences and we take seriously our role in providing this experience safely and responsibly,” said Wilmott. “We are also proud to support the creation of strong jobs and tremendous economic value for the communities in which we operate across the United States. The growing impact of our industry, including the opportunity for states to offer legal sports betting, makes this an especially exciting time to lead our membership toward a vibrant future.”
Stacy Papadopoulos, general counsel and SVP of industry services at the AGA, has been appointed as interim CEO until a candidate is named.
“We are grateful to Geoff for his leadership over the last five years and we wish to thank Stacy for taking the helm of the AGA while we identify its next CEO,” said Wilmott.
The search will be supported by Spencer Stuart, one of the world’s leading executive search consulting firms. Leslie Hortum, managing director, will lead the search.
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About AGA: The American Gaming Association is the premier national trade group representing the $261 billion U.S. casino industry, which supports 1.8 million jobs in 40 states. AGA members include commercial and Tribal casino operators, suppliers and other entities affiliated with the gaming industry. It is the mission of the AGA to achieve sound policies and regulations consistent with casino gaming’s modern appeal and vast economic contributions.