The American Gaming Association released the following statement after Gov. Whitmer signed a bill to legalize sports betting in Michigan:

“With Gov. Whitmer’s signature, twenty states plus DC have now legalized sports betting in the United States, capping off a tremendous year of growth,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. “These new markets offer more Americans a safe, legal way to wager on sports while positively impacting communities, like in Michigan, where revenue from sports betting will generate needed resources for public education, first responders, and, importantly, responsible gaming.”

The American Gaming Association released the following statement after Governor Roy Cooper signed S. 154 – a bill which enjoyed overwhelming bipartisan support – to authorize sports betting at two tribal casinos in North Carolina. With Gov. Cooper’s signature, the Tarheel State becomes the 19^th jurisdiction in America to authorize sports betting.

“Legalizing sports betting in North Carolina is a welcome step in the fight against the dangerous, illegal market,” said Bill Miller, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. “Providing North Carolinians with legal alternatives to illicit offshore operators will help safeguard consumers and the integrity of the games, advance responsible gaming initiatives and give state and federal law enforcement an advantage in combating illegal gambling.”

Supporting the Legal Sports Betting Market

Since the federal ban was overturned in 2018, states and sovereign tribal nations have had the opportunity to establish frameworks for legal sports betting, which protect consumers and create tax benefits for local communities.

Embracing America’s Passion Through Effective Regulation

In May 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), a decades-old federal law that prevented states other than Nevada from allowing legal, regulated wagers on collegiate and professional sports. This federal prohibition inadvertently created a massive illegal market — along with a myriad of associated public policy problems.

The Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision was a win for millions of Americans who seek to participate in sports wagering in a safe, legal and regulated manner. States and tribal nations can now set their own policies to legalize and regulate sports betting in an effective manner that protects consumers and creates tax benefits for local communities.

Since May 2018, sports betting is legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., and has generated more than $2.45 billion in federal, state and local taxes.* This tax revenue funds infrastructure, education, responsible gaming education, problem gambling services, and other core priorities.

*Based on AGA’s compilation of state gaming regulator reporting and estimates of federal excise tax.

Repealing Federal Excise Tax on Sports Betting

The Internal Revenue Code currently imposes a federal excise tax of 0.25 percent on the amount of any legal sports wager with a sportsbook, as well as an additional $50 annual head tax for every employee engaged in receiving wagers for or on behalf of any legal sports betting operator. This tax was established in the 1950s, not as a revenue source, but rather as a tool for prosecuting illegal bookmaking operations that didn’t pay the tax.

Currently, this tax serves no dedicated purpose and represents an added operating cost to legal sportsbooks that illegal operators do not pay, further impeding customers’ move away from the predatory, illegal market to safe, regulated sports betting channels. Congress can help empower the success of a safe, regulated marketplace by repealing the federal excise tax that unnecessarily disadvantages legal sports betting operations.

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American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller issued the following statement following Tuesday’s election results that saw a ballot initiative legalize sports betting in Missouri:

“Missouri voters last night landed a knockout punch to illegal sportsbook operators in their state by voting to support sports betting legalization. With Amendment 2’s passage, Missourians will soon be able to bet on sports legally, with consumer protections, responsible gaming measures and expertise within reach, and tax revenues dedicated to public schools. We applaud these efforts and look forward to supporting the legal, regulated market operators upon launch in the Show Me State.”

The AGA’s survey on sports betting consumer behavior in 2019 shows that bettors are increasingly choosing legal sportsbooks over illegal operators when placing their wagers. In states with legal sports betting in 2019, past-year bettors reported:

12%

Increase in online and mobile betting spend with legal operators

25%

Decrease in spend with illegal bookies

3%

Increase in spend with offshore operators

The findings solidify the need for states to allow competitive alternatives to the illegal market, such as intrastate mobile wagering, which consumer polling shows is a primary factor in drawing customers away from unregulated and dangerous operators. Other key factors influencing conversion from the illegal to legal market were:

Confidence that bets will be paid out - 25%

Awareness of legal options - 20%

Desire to use a regulated book - 19%

Migration from the illegal market would likely have been more pronounced if it wasn’t for sports bettors reporting widespread confusion between legal and illegal operators. Despite 74 percent of bettors saying it is important to only bet through legal providers, 52 percent of past-year bettors participated in the illegal market in 2019. 55 percent of consumers who placed most of their wagers with illegal operators reporting that they believed they were betting legally.

These results highlight the need for further consumer education on how and why to bet legally. The AGA is taking action by educating bettors on responsible gaming, educating the media on the pervasive effects of legitimizing offshore operators, and maintaining a directory of licensed online and retail sportsbooks in states with legal sports betting.

“Illegal, offshore operators continue to take advantage of unknowing consumers. This only worsened during the [COVID-19] sports shutdown, with unregulated bookmakers offering odds on everything from the weather and shark migration patterns to whether your friends’ marriage will survive the pandemic. The AGA is focused on educating customers on how to wager legally and about the dangers of the illegal market.”

- Bill Miller, President and CEO, American gaming Association

Methodology

Heart + Mind Strategies conducted this survey on behalf of the AGA between December 2019 and January 2020. The survey includes 3,451 interviews among American adults over 21-years-old of various subgroups.

AGA Senior Vice President Joe Maloney issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing America’s High-Stakes Bet on Legalized Sports Gambling taking place on Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

“Today’s hearing notably lacked an industry witness. This unfortunate exclusion leaves the Committee and the overall proceeding bereft of testimony on how legal gaming protects consumers from the predatory illegal market and its leadership in promoting responsible gaming and safeguarding integrity. We remain committed to robust state regulatory frameworks that protect consumers, promote responsibility, and preserve integrity of athletic competition.”

Five years after the end of the federal ban on sports betting, American Gaming Association (AGA) research shows that Americans overwhelmingly support legal sports betting:

85 percent of American adults agree with the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), compared to 63 percent in 2019.
77 percent of American adults support legalization in their state of residence.
78 percent of bettors place all or most bets through regulated operators.
77 percent of online sports bets are now placed through regulated operators, compared to just 44 percent in 2019.

Bettor Migration to Legal Sportsbooks
As the legal market grows, it is increasingly attracting and retaining customers from illegal bookies and offshore operators:

Consumer Awareness
Compared to five years ago, consumers have a significantly better understanding of the legal status of sports betting in their state, however, survey results also point to continued need for consumer education:

Only 29 percent of American adults say they are unsure of the legality of online sportsbooks in their state, a 45 percent decrease since 2018.
Yet, 70 percent of sports bettors who placed most of their bets with illegal operators believed they were betting either exclusively with legal sportsbooks or splitting their bets evenly between legal and illegal operators.

Consumer confusion is in part attributable to illegal offshore sites misrepresenting their legal status by marketing themselves as regulated sites:

Making an Impact
Since May 2018, Americans have legally wagered $220 billion nationwide, generating $3 billion in state and local taxes for education, healthcare, infrastructure, responsible gaming and problem gambling resource funding and more.

“Five years post-PASPA, the AGA and our members continue to support responsibly expanding the legal market while cracking down on predatory illegal operators. The regulated industry and our partners across the entire ecosystem—policymakers, law enforcement, regulators, leagues, media, technology providers and more—have made significant strides in our collaborative consumer education efforts since 2018, and we will continue to find new ways to enhance consumer protections as the market matures.” – AGA President and CEO Bill Miller

Washington, D.C. – A quarter of all American adults (68 million) plan to wager $15.5 billion on this year’s NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament, according to a new survey from the American Gaming Association (AGA).

31 million American adults plan to place a traditional sports wager online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookie.
21.5 million plan to bet casually with friends.
56.3 million plan to participate in a bracket contest.

“March Madness is one of the best traditions in American sports—and America’s most wagered-on competition,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “Critically, the expansion of regulated sports betting over the past five years has brought safeguards to more than half of American adults who can now bet legally in their home market.”

The growth in March Madness betting is driven by a resurgence of bracket contests as well as Americans taking advantage of the expansion of legal online wagering. Three-fourths of online bettors say this will be their first time betting on March Madness online.

While 18 million more American adults plan to wager on March Madness compared to last month’s Super Bowl, Americans are expected to wager half a billion dollars less on the tournament than they planned to wager on the Big Game.

Since last year’s tournament, Kansas, Massachusetts and Ohio have launched retail and mobile sports betting markets, while Maryland has launched mobile wagering. This year’s March Madness—with 67 games over three weeks—will be the first to feature Las Vegas as a regional host location.

“With the excitement around March Madness, the AGA and our members want to remind anyone getting in on the action to have a game plan to bet responsibly. That means setting a budget, knowing the odds, keeping it social and always playing legally,” added Miller.

Among bettors, Kentucky is the most popular choice to win the national title (9%), followed by Texas A&M (8%), and Gonzaga, UCLA and Alabama (6%).

Background

33 states and Washington, D.C. currently feature live, legal sports betting markets, with three additional legal markets awaiting launch.
More than half of American adults (57%, 146M) live in a live, legal sports betting market.
AGA’s Have A Game Plan.^®Bet Responsibly.™campaign is bringing sports betting stakeholders together to promote responsible gaming.

Methodology
Morning Consult conducted the online survey on behalf of the AGA between March 1-3, among a national sample of 2,200 adults. The data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment and region. The margin of error is +/- 2 percent and greater among subgroups. Bettors include those who expect to place a bet online, with a bookie, with a casino sportsbook, casually with family or friends, or as part of a bracket contest.

Washington, D.C. – 20.5 million American adults (8%) plan to bet a total of $1.8 billion on the 2022 FIFA World Cup™, according to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) inaugural survey on World Cup wagering.

Unlike other major events like the Super Bowl and March Madness that have significant casual betting components, including bracket or squares contests, the vast majority of World Cup bettors (72%) plan to place traditional bets either online, with a bookie or at a physical sportsbook.

Of World Cup bettors:

9.8 million (48%) plan to place a bet online.
6.0 million (29%) plan to place a casual bet with a friend.
4.7 million (23%) plan to place a bet at a physical casino sportsbook.
4.1 million (20%) plan to place a bet with a bookie.
3.5 million (17%) plan to place a bet as part of a paid pool or fantasy contest.

The survey also found the majority (78%) of World Cup bettors say it is important for them to place their bets legally.

“As the first World Cup with widespread availability of legal sports betting, this will certainly be the most bet-upon soccer event ever in the U.S.,” said AGA Senior Vice President Casey Clark. “With more than half of all American adults having access to legal betting options in their home market, legal sports betting will deepen American fan engagement in the most-watched sporting event in the world.”

Additional survey results include:

Three in 10 (29%) American adults who plan to watch the World Cup intend to wager on the tournament.
Gen Z (11%) and Millennial (14%) adults are more interested in betting on the world cup than Gen X (8%) and Baby Boomers (2%).
If they were given $50 to bet, most Americans would put their money on the United States (24%) to win the World Cup, followed by Brazil (19%), Argentina (17%) and Germany (10%).

“As the World Cup kicks off, anyone getting in on the action should have a game plan to bet responsibly. That means setting a budget, keeping it fun, learning the odds and playing with legal, regulated operators,” Clark added.

Methodology
Morning Consult conducted the online survey on behalf of the AGA between Nov. 3-5, 2022, among a national sample of 2,213 adults. The data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, race/ethnicity, gender, educational attainment and region. The margin of error is +/-2 percent and greater among subgroups. Bettors include those who expect to place a bet online, with a bookie, with a casino sportsbook, in a pool or squares contest, or casually with family or friends.

Background

31 states and Washington, D.C.currently feature live, legal sports betting markets, with five additional legal markets awaiting launch.
Legal wagering is currently available to 132 million Americans in their home states compared to only 10 million during the 2018 World Cup, when only three states featured live, legal markets.
AGA’s Have A Game Plan.^®Bet Responsibly™ campaign is bringing sports betting stakeholders together to promote responsible gaming.

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Trustly

“At Trustly, our sustainability efforts are meant both to ensure the long-term success of our business in a changing economic environment, and to play an active role in shaping that future environment so it is happier and healthier for our society as a whole.”

Advancing Sustainability

Lowering Carbon Emissions

As an online payment method, Trustly’s business model is digital by nature and has a relatively lower direct environmental impact than, for example, tech companies that produce hardware. Trustly’s Corporate Sustainability Policy covers the environmental issues that Trustly has identified as material to its business, including:

Reducing CO2 emissions from business travels
Climate efficient data centers
Climate efficient office facilities.

Trustly is currently in the process of conducting a comprehensive greenhouse gas accounting of its operations. Trustly is also participating in the UN Global Compact’s Climate Ambition Accelerator to help set science-based targets to reduce emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

As a tech Company, Trustly’s main environmental impact is indirect, caused by the energy consumption of the data centers that store our servers. Reliable and secure data centers are essential to the operations of the business. The data centers are hosted by two providers located in the Stockholm area of Sweden, Global Connect and Equinix, and are powered using 100 percent renewable energy.

Business traveling remains a large contributor to CO2 emissions. Thus, Trustly vows to only embark on major trips while prioritizing digital forms of communication.

Strengthening Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Increasing Board & Management Diversity

In 2020, Trustly’s Board of Directors was comprised of 29 percent women. Through our commitment to DEI, that has grown to 43 percent today.

Strengthening Employee DEI

Trustly considers its people its most valuable asset. Having the best people results in high-performing teams that deliver the innovative products that are reshaping the payments landscape.

Trustly also believes that diversity drives innovation and results in products that are more inclusive. That’s why Trustly is proud that its workforce is made up of more than 50 different nationalities.

Trustly follows these basic principles for equal treatment, as laid out in its Gender Equality and Diversity Policy:

Trustly offers equal pay for equal work. There should be no unfounded differences in pay between men and women or for any reason such as ethnicity, religion, etc.
Trustly offers equal terms of employment and working conditions for men and women.
Trustly has zero tolerance regarding psychological harassment or harassment on the grounds of one’s gender or other reasons such as ethnicity, religion, etc.
Trustly has zero tolerance for sexual harassment.

Investing in Communities

Delivering in Times of Crisis

To show its gratitude for frontline healthcare workers during the pandemic, Trustly donated hundreds of meals to healthcare workers around the world.

Expanding Education & Career Opportunities

In an effort to reduce hardware waste and also expand global educational opportunities, Trustly donates some of its older computers to IT for Children, a nonprofit organization that provides young people in Ghana with access to computers to further their education.

Personal Data Integrity

Trustly values customer protection and dedicates significant time to oversee security throughout the supply chain. To keep up with constant developments in data security, Trustly has a dedicated Chief Information Security Officer. Annual audits are also conducted on Trustly’s systems to ensure all systems are secure.

Trustly values data privacy to the highest degree. The Company has many measures in place to ensure data protection, including adhering to multiple data protection laws and regulations, mandating all Europe-based employees take General Data Protection Regulation training, establishing a cross functional committee to evaluate all new IT solutions and 24/7 customer support.

Several measures are also in place to detect and protect users from cyberattacks as well as crime prevention. Annual anti-corruption and anti-bribery training must be taken by all Trustly employees.

Responsible Leadership

Establishing & Following Rigorous Business Standards

Because iGaming operators represent a portion of its merchant base, Trustly works together with operators and their respective regulatory authorities to help ensure that their players play responsibly. Trustly maintains continuous interactions with local regulators, gaming authorities and legal counsels, and invests in third-party services providing country-by-country monitoring of iGaming and payments regulations. Trustly endorses the movement towards a more harmonized and clearly defined regulated market to the benefit of citizens and industry actors alike.

Trustly works with merchants and partners in ways that adhere to legal requirements and ethical standards. The Company has a clear policy in place to partner only with EU/EEA and US-licensed iGaming merchants. Trustly’s gaming merchants go through three layers of control: supervising authority, their banks and Trustly. In addition, there are structures in place that enable Trustly to make further exclusions, including, for example, the Swedish Gambling Authority’s list of prohibited operators.

Combatting Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking

Trustly recognizes and honors the right for every person to freely give his or her labor and for each employee to leave his or her employment. Trustly is committed to ensuring that it does not, directly or indirectly, make use of any work or service which is extracted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily. Trustly takes a zero-tolerance approach to modern slavery and human trafficking. Should Trustly identify any modern slavery issues in its supply chain, the Company directly engages with that supplier to address any issues.