The gaming industry has an expansive impact on the U.S. economy – providing stable jobs to nearly two million Americans and generating billions of dollars in tax revenue. This research represents the first comprehensive report on the gaming industry’s national economic impact since 2018.

The gaming industry supports a total economic impact including:

• $329 billion of output (business sales)
• 1.8 million jobs with $104 billion of labor income (wages, salaries, tips, benefits and other labor income)
• $53 billion of federal, state and local taxes, including $13.5 billion of gaming taxes

The gaming industry directly employs more than 700,000 people in the U.S. This includes nearly 600,000 jobs on-site at casinos and corporate offices, more than 23,000 at U.S.-based operations of gaming manufacturers, and 89,000 at businesses providing goods and services to casino patrons during casino trips.

The gaming industry directly employs more than 700,000 people in the U.S. This includes nearly 600,000 jobs on-site at casinos and corporate offices, more than 23,000 at U.S.-based operations of gaming manufacturers, and 89,000 at businesses providing goods and services to casino patrons during casino trips.

The $53 million in taxes generated by the gaming industry provides critical funding for local public programs and services, including education, infrastructure and economic development, as well as supplemental revenue for state general funds.

According to the report, America’s gaming industry directly employs more than 700,000 people in the U.S. Put in context with the broader U.S. economy:

• Gaming provides more direct jobs than the air transportation, postal service or motion picture and video sectors.
• Direct casino employment accounts for 1 in 33 leisure and hospitality jobs.

Recent, related AGA research shows the economic benefits generated by gaming are widely recognized by Americans, with a record 71 percent of adults saying the casino gaming industry has a positive impact on the U.S. economy.

WASHINGTON – Today, the American Gaming Association sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reinforcing AGA’s priorities for successful legal sports betting markets and commitment to work with Sen. Schumer and all stakeholders working to stamp out the vast illegal market.

“AGA has long been a leading advocate for eliminating the vast illegal sports betting market in the U.S., which was largely enabled by the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA),” the letter stated. “We believe this can best be achieved through law enforcement oversight and robust state regulation. AGA firmly believes that additional federal engagement is not warranted at this time.”

Read the full letter here.

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 nationwide. AGA members include commercial and tribal casino operators, gaming 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.

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WASHINGTON – Today, the American Gaming Association sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reinforcing AGA’s priorities for successful legal sports betting markets and commitment to work with Sen. Schumer and all stakeholders working to stamp out the vast illegal market.

“AGA has long been a leading advocate for eliminating the vast illegal sports betting market in the U.S., which was largely enabled by the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA),” the letter stated. “We believe this can best be achieved through law enforcement oversight and robust state regulation. AGA firmly believes that additional federal engagement is not warranted at this time.”

Read the full letter here.

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 nationwide. AGA members include commercial and tribal casino operators, gaming 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.

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WASHINGTON – American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller released the following statement on bipartisan legislation Reps. Dina Titus (NV-01) and Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) introduced today to repeal the federal excise and head taxes:

“The federal excise and head taxes levied on legal U.S. sportsbooks generate little meaningful revenue for the government. Instead, they place legitimate businesses at a significant competitive disadvantage against illicit gambling operations which skirt taxes and licensing fees. Though originally enacted in the 1950’s as a tool to curb illegal gambling, these antiquated federal taxes now give illegal operators a leg up.

“To absorb the unnecessary burden of these taxes, legal sportsbooks are forced to offer worse odds and payouts or reduce investment in promoting legal betting channels to the public. Furthermore, the head tax serves as an impediment to hiring at a time when providing jobs is critical.

“I’m grateful to the Congressional Gaming Caucus’ Co-Chairs Reps. Titus and Reschenthaler for introducing this legislation today to provide regulated operators with meaningful relief as they recover from the COVID-19 sports shutdown. Eliminating these taxes is a long overdue step to enable a legal, regulated environment for sports betting that will better protect customers and generate much-needed revenue for state and local economies.”

Background

• The Internal Revenue Code requires regulated sports betting operators to pay a 0.25% federal excise tax on all wagers, in addition to a $50 annual tax (“head tax”) for every employee engaged in receiving bets.
• These taxes accounted for less than $33 million in federal tax dollars in 2019.
• Sportsbooks operate with a very low margin even in the lowest-taxed jurisdictions. For example, Nevada sportsbooks’ revenue is typically 5 percent of the total amount wagered, before accounting for taxes and operator expenses.
• AGA research released Tuesday found that consumers want to wager legally but are still confused about which options are safe and regulated. Educating consumers about their legal options is critical to bringing bettors into the legal, regulated market.
• Miller encouraged Congress to repeal the excise tax in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

AGA Senior Vice President Chris Cylke issued the following statement on the proposed Betting on our Future Act:

“The American Gaming Association (AGA) and our members adamantly oppose any legislation that seeks to ban or limit casino gaming advertising, including for legal sports betting.

Any such effort only serves to reduce awareness for legal options to the benefit of illegal, offshore operators and the detriment of consumers and communities. The proposed legislation would violate well-established free speech protections and undermine the expertise of more than 5,000 state and tribal gaming regulators across the country.

Responsibility is a foundation of the legal gaming industry and that includes with advertising. In fact, there’s never been more attention paid or resources invested in responsible gaming and problem gambling resources. This includes our proactive efforts establishing the Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering, which mandates responsible gaming message inclusion and imposes restrictions on target audiences, outlets and content.

Congress should instead focus its attention on combatting the predatory and pervasive offshore illegal market that offers no responsible gaming measures, age verification or problem gambling resources.

We appreciate Representative Tonko’s interest and will continue to work to ensure a sustainable legal marketplace that puts consumer protections first.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  The American Gaming Association (AGA) Tuesday held its first ever State Stakeholders Summit, convening industry experts and invested stakeholders to drive the evolving national debate on expanding legalized, regulated sports betting. Held at the Hall of States, the event focused on potential policy solutions for state and federal legislatures and regulatory bodies. Drawing upon critical guidance from gaming regulators and AGA policy principles, stakeholders discussed the need for sound policy that would enhance law enforcement resources and drive customers to a legal, regulated market.

Within the next 70 days, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a ruling on Murphy v. NCAA, the state of New Jersey’s challenge to the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The 1992 law, which largely outlawed sports betting outside of Nevada, has failed to offer sport or consumer protection. Rather, PASPA restricts state and federal economic benefits, exhausts law enforcement resources and perpetuates a thriving illegal sports betting market in the United States that AGA estimates to be in excess of $150 billion annually. Event participants included those who joined AGA in filing amicus briefs with the Supreme Court in support of New Jersey.

“This meeting was an opportunity to continue our longstanding dialogue about shutting down the illegal sports betting market with some of the most important stakeholders in the debate,” said AGA Senior Vice President of Public Affairs Sara Slane. “States are anticipating and are preparing to offer legal, regulated sports betting in a way that meets the needs of their constituents. The organizations represented are central to advancing effective and sensible sports betting laws and regulations, and enacting and enforcing these new rules.”

Participants included members of AGA’s Sports Betting Task Force, former and current gaming regulators, and representatives from the National Governors Association, Conference of Western Attorneys General, National Conference of State Legislatures, American Legislative Exchange Council, Fraternal Order of Police, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Association of Counties and the Council of State Chambers, among others.

The Stakeholder Summit preceded a meeting of AGA’s Public Policy Committee, which convenes biannually to discuss industry policy priorities and activities.

AGA will issue an after-action report outlining lessons learned from the Summit, and next steps for advancing sound sports betting policy that shuts down the illegal market.

About AGA: The American Gaming Association is the premier national trade group representing the $240 billion U.S. casino industry, which supports 1.7 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.

The AGA remains focused on stopping illegal gambling, elevating responsible gambling, and telling the industry’s story. Find details on these efforts and additional AGA updates below.

💥 ICYMI: G2E 2023 is 95 days away! Preview this year’s schedule and register today to join the global gaming industry from October 9-12 at The Venetian Expo.

Engaging Industry Stakeholders

The AGA continues to engage the broader gaming ecosystem, including regulators, policymakers and law enforcement, on combating the illegal market and advancing responsible gambling and advertising. These efforts have led the AGA team to several industry events in recent weeks, including:

• Speaking at the IAGA International Gaming Summit on the dangers of illegal gambling and how the U.S. industry is leading the fight against these operators.
• Testifying to the Indiana Gaming Commission on the legal gaming industry’s commitment to responsible gambling.
• Attending the North American Gaming Regulators Association Annual Meeting to educate regulators on the illegal market and industry efforts on responsible sports betting advertising.
• Presenting at the Attorney General Alliance Annual Meeting on “skill” games, offshore sites and “faux fantasy” operations, sharing specific actions state attorneys general can take to crack down on these illegal operators.

Five Numbers from AGA Q2 Research

AGA research released across Q2 2023 covered an array of industry topics. Here are five numbers to know.

• 85 percent of American adults agree with the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.
• Nearly nine in ten (88%) gaming equipment manufacturer CEOs expect sales of gaming units for replacement use to increase in the next three to six months.
• Commercial gaming generated $13.49 billion in direct gaming tax revenue paid to state and local governments in 2022, not including billions more paid in income, sales or other taxes.
• April 2023 marked the 26th consecutive month of annual growth with commercial gaming revenue reaching $22.06 billion through April, up 13.8 percent year over year.
• More than 6 in 10 (61%) of gaming industry employees are minorities, compared to 42 percent of the total U.S. workforce.

AGA in the News

The AGA continues to push back against false narratives about gaming and highlight the benefits of a legal market, our commitment to responsibility, and our contributions to communities. In June, these efforts resulted in several AGA opinion pieces being published.

• USA Today | NBA Finals will trigger a surge in sports betting. We need to help problem gamblers.
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Miller: Missouri’s top cop shouldn’t cop out on illegal gambling
• Deseret News | Opinion: Illegal sportsbooks are the real problem in sports gambling

Bonus Read: Congressional Gaming Caucus Co-Chair and Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) also recently shared his thoughts on protecting legal betting markets in The Hill following the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down PASPA.

One More Thing

As the 2023 legislative cycle comes to a close, the AGA’s interactive Legal Sports Betting Map reflects movement in North Carolina, Kentucky and Vermont.

• North Carolina legalized online wagering with an anticipated launch in the first half of 2024.
• Kentucky and Vermont became the 37th and 38th states respectively to legalize sports betting. Kentucky is targeting a late 2023 launch while Vermont plans for mobile-only wagering in early 2024.