AGA President and CEO Bill Miller sent the following industry update on March 27, 2020.

Today, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. The $2 trillion bipartisan relief package – the largest in U.S. history – delivers essential support that the American Gaming Association (AGA) fought to secure for gaming employees, communities, and businesses.

This emergency economic relief arrives at a critical moment. The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has effectively shut down our industry. COVID-19 has sent shock waves through the economy – putting at risk the millions of American workers and small businesses gaming supports.

Past federal responses to natural disasters and financial crises excluded gaming companies from assistance available to the rest of the business community. Some called to do so again in the CARES Act. But with the help of industry leaders, the AGA convinced lawmakers that gaming deserves the same access to economic relief available to every other industry.

The CARES Act provides tax relief to help gaming companies keep workers on the payroll; opens access to critical capital through loans for all industry segments; provides direct economic support for millions of American workers and their families; and offers vital stabilization funding for tribal governments. To help you understand key parts of the legislation, the AGA has developed an overview of relevant provisions, available here.

We commend Congress and the administration for acting swiftly to provide needed relief. The gaming industry united to achieve a major first step that will help sustain us during the required shutdown and ensure America’s employees can return to their jobs as soon as it’s safe.

The louder our megaphone, the more we can achieve for gaming. I encourage you to sign up today to become a gaming champion – and to share this invitation with your colleagues.

The AGA was founded 25 years ago to advocate for the industry when it is most needed. Our inclusion in the CARES Act signals that gaming’s contribution to America’s economy and communities across the country has never been more valued.

But our fight is not over. As the nation’s response to the pandemic evolves, we know gaming businesses, workers, and their families will continue to need support. We will keep fighting to help every aspect of the gaming industry as Congress and the administration consider additional economic relief measures. Please reach out to tell us the specific challenges you face and how we can help support gaming during this crisis.

A record 49 percent of American adults have a favorable view of the casino gaming industry, up four percentage points from 2018, according to a national survey commissioned by the American Gaming Association.

As in prior years, Americans see the gaming industry as helping local economies and creating jobs, but more than ever they also see the industry as helping the communities where it operates.

The increase in favorability coincides with a surge in casino visitation and a widespread perception that the industry provides innovative, high-quality types of entertainment. The share of American adults that visited a casino in the last year jumped to 44 percent in 2019, up nine percentage points in 2018. This trend looks to continue as almost 124 million American adult —49 percent of the U.S. adult population— say they will visit a casino to gamble over the next 12 months, up 20 million from 2018.

Further, two-in-three Americans (67%) think the gaming industry provides high-quality entertainment and 63 percent say casino entertainment options are innovative.

Today’s findings are consistent with previous AGA research showing nearly nine out of 10 Americans view gaming as a mainstream form of entertainment.

Methodology
The Mellman Group conducted this survey of Americans’ attitudes on behalf of the American Gaming Association between Sept. 13-19, 2019 among a national sample of 1,000 registered voters. The interviews were conducted both online and via phone. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent.

As the gaming industry evolves to incorporate constant changes in technology and entertainment media, gaming regulation is entering a parallel era of perpetual reform. Regulators in the more than three hundred U.S. gaming jurisdictions—forty states plus tribal entities—have to adapt their requirements to new games, new game delivery systems, new financial relationships, new customer identification processes, and new data management systems.

The fourth white paper on regulatory reform by the American Gaming Association spotlights the transformation of regulatory reform from a periodic exercise to a continuous process and celebrates recent reform efforts in five gaming jurisdictions that benefit customers, bolster the industry and create greater efficiencies for regulators without jeopardizing oversight and integrity.

Here, we examine three examples of regulators meeting challenges in very different aspects of gaming regulation:

• Ohio and Michigan have dropped decades-old regulations on the shipment of gaming machines, recognizing that the rules increased costs without serving their regulatory priorities.
• Nevada is allowing customers to open integrated “wagering accounts” for financial transactions relating to multiple forms of gaming at a casino, a critical first step toward meeting consumer expectations for seamless, simple financial tools.
• Pennsylvania and Mississippi have increased the ownership share that triggers the need for an “institutional investor” to acquire a gaming license, improving access to capital for licensed gaming companies.

In each instance, the regulatory reform improves the industry’s ability to accommodate changes in the marketplace. The ultimate challenge for regulators, however, is much larger than these three reforms. As technology continues to disrupt the gaming world, regulatory reinvention will have to keep pace with those disruptions while still ensuring the integrity of the industry.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. commercial gaming revenue reached a quarterly record of $15.17 billion in Q3 2022, according to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker. The all-time high beats the previous record, $14.81 billion in Q2 2022, by two percent.

Through the first nine months of the year, 2022 is on pace to surpass 2021 as the highest-grossing commercial gaming revenue year ever, tracking 14.7 percent ahead of the same period last year and already surpassing full-year revenue for 2019.

“While business challenges remain, high consumer demand continues to fuel our industry’s record success,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “Our sustained momentum in the face of broader economic volatility points to gaming’s overall health today and provides confidence as we look to the future.”

Commercial gaming’s year-over-year growth rate in Q3 2022 of 8.8 percent outperformed the broader U.S. economy’s growth rate in Q3 2022 of 2.6 percent.

Land-based slots and table games continue to be the foundation for the industry’s revenue growth, generating a record $12.27 billion in Q3 2022—up 1.8 percent from Q3 2021. Combined year-to-date revenue for the verticals stands at $35.94 billion, up 8.1 percent year-over-year.

Due to a high sportsbook win percentage and solid growth in existing markets, sports betting also set a new quarterly revenue record of $1.68 billion, up 80.6 percent year-over-year. Sports betting revenue through September has already reached an all-time annual high of $4.78 billion, beating 2021’s full-year record of $4.34 billion.

iGaming revenue of $1.21 billion fell less than one percent short of a new quarterly record. With $3.62 billion generated in iGaming revenue through September, the vertical remains on pace to join slots, table games and sports betting in posting record revenue in 2022.

Out of 33 commercial gaming states that were operational one year ago, 16 reported quarterly highs in overall commercial gaming revenue in Q3 2022, including five of the six largest markets: Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania.

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WASHINGTON – 23.2 million Americans plan to bet a total of $4.3 billion on this year’s Super Bowl LV matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, according to new American Gaming Association (AGA) research. Among Super Bowl bettors, a record 7.6 million will bet with online sportsbooks this year, up 63 percent year-over-year.

“This year’s Super Bowl is expected to generate the largest single-event legal handle in American sports betting history,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “With a robust legal market, Americans are abandoning illegal bookies and taking their action into the regulated marketplace in record numbers.”

Since last year’s game, 36 million more American adults have gained the opportunity to safely bet in legal markets in their home state with seven new jurisdictions now live: Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Montana, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

An expected overall drop in overall Super Bowl betting is almost entirely caused by pandemic-led restrictions, with the largest declines anticipated for retail sportsbooks and casual bets, like pools or squares, that are made in social settings.

Key findings from the survey, conducted by Morning Consult, reflect dramatically shifting betting patterns amid the COVID-19 pandemic:

• 1.4 million Americans plan to bet in-person at a sportsbook, down 61 percent from 2020.
• 1.8 million bettors plan to place a bet with a bookie, down 21 percent.
• 4.5 million Americans plan to place a pool, squares, or similar bet, down 19 percent.
• 11.9 million Americans plan to bet casually with friends, down 18 percent.
• 56 percent of bettors plan to bet on the Chiefs while 44 percent plan to bet on the Buccaneers.

While previous AGA research has shown consumer confusion over the legal status of many online sportsbooks, consumers feel it is important to bet legally: 65 percent of expected Super Bowl bettors say it is important for themselves personally to use a legal, regulated sportsbook for their bets.

As awareness and availability of legal betting options grows, so do the benefits to consumers: 34 percent of Americans remember seeing responsible gaming messaging in the past year, up five points from 2020. Super Bowl bettors were even more likely to see responsibility content, with 53 percent seeing responsible gaming messaging in the past year.

“This data is an encouraging sign that our efforts to ground the expansion of sports betting in responsible gaming is taking hold,” stated Miller. “Responsible gaming is core to legal sports betting’s long-term success, and this is borne out by continued demand for consumer protections only available in the legal market.”

One part of the industry’s effort to broaden consumer awareness of legal, responsible betting is AGA’s Have A Game Plan.^® Bet Responsibly. campaign which—along with its partners, the National Hockey League (NHL), PGA TOUR, NASCAR, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and Vegas Golden Knights—educates fans on the fundamentals of responsible sports betting.

Background

• 25 states and Washington, DC have legalized sports betting, with 21 legal markets operational.
• 13 states currently have active or pre-filed legislation to legalize sports betting.
• More than $21 billion was wagered on sports in 2020, up from $13 billion in 2019, generating more than $210 million in state and local taxes.
• Mobile wagering has accounted for 82% of legal sports wagers nationwide during the pandemic.
• Previous AGA research found that more than 33 million Americans planned to bet on this year’s NFL season.

Methodology
Morning Consult conducted the online survey on behalf of the AGA between Jan. 25-27, 2021, among a national sample of 2,198 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.

As the 2024 NFL season kicks off, the American Gaming Association projects that American adults will bet $35 billion with legal sportsbooks throughout the season, AGA’s first-ever legal wagering estimate for the league’s season.

Driven by the continued expansion and maturation of the legal sports betting industry across the U.S., 2024 is expected to be the most legally wagered-on season in the NFL’s seven seasons with legal wagering. AGA analysis conducted after the 2023 NFL season estimates that legal wagering on last year’s NFL season reached $26.7 billion.

Maine, North Carolina and Vermont have each launched new legal sports betting markets since last NFL kickoff.

Importantly, as legal sports betting grows, recent AGA data shows public support for the industry also continues to grow, with Americans increasingly seeing the industry as committed to responsibility:

• 90% of past-year sports bettors say it is important to them that the sportsbook they choose is legal and regulated.
• 88% of sports bettors say the legal industry is committed to responsible gaming and combatting problem gambling.
• 85% of sports bettors agree with the effectiveness of responsible gaming programs, up from 83% last year.
• 75% of American adults support legal, regulated sports betting in their state, up from 73% last year.

Nearly all past-year sports bettors (96%) are familiar with at least one responsible gaming resource, with 57% reporting seeing or hearing increased responsible gaming messaging in the past 12 months.

High awareness for responsible gaming resources among consumers is significantly driven by industry marketing and advertising, which three quarters (73%) of American adults say is being done responsibly—up from 68% in 2023.

Throughout the season, the AGA encourages football fans to Have A Game Plan to bet responsibly:

• Set a budget and stick to it.
• Keep it social—sports betting is purely a form of entertainment for adults.
• Know the odds.
• Only play with legal, regulated operators.

Learn more at www.haveagameplan.org.

Methodology
AGA’s NFL 2024 wagering estimates are based on data from states that break out handle by sport and break down splits between college and professional football, applying multi-year averages of the annual share of national handle from March-February to project a total football handle estimate.

Washington, D.C. – A record 67.8 million American adults (26%) are expected to bet on Super Bowl LVIII, a 35 percent increase from 2023, according to a new American Gaming Association (AGA) survey. Bettors plan to wager an estimated $23.1 billion on this year’s Big Game, up from $16 billion last year.

With the expansion of legal sports betting, traditional Super Bowl wagers are expected to pass casual wagers for a second consecutive year:

• 42.7 million American adults plan to place a traditional sports wager online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookie, up 41 percent from 2023.
• 36.5 million plan to bet casually with friends or as part of a pool or squares contest, up 32 percent from 2023.

Importantly, Americans continue to migrate to the legal market: 28.7 million adults, or 11 percent, intend to place online wagers using a legal U.S. sportsbook.

“As the Super Bowl comes to Las Vegas for the first time, this year’s record interest in wagering marks a full circle moment for the U.S. gaming industry,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “Our priority remains getting this opportunity right by providing the consumer protections only a regulated market can guarantee and investing in responsible gambling tools, safeguards and education.”

Industry investments in responsible gambling continue to resonate. The majority of traditional Super Bowl bettors (75%) report seeing a responsible gambling message in the last year, up from 71 percent in 2023. Meanwhile, 47 percent of all American adults recall hearing or seeing a responsible gambling message in the past year, up from 40 percent last year.

During Super Bowl week, Miller will be joined on radio row in Las Vegas by Heisman Trophy winner, former NFL running back, and current Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff host Mark Ingram II to speak with media about the expansion of legal sports betting and the importance of responsible play.

“The thrill of the game and the passion of the fans are what make sports so rewarding and fun. Legalized sports betting builds on this excitement. That’s why I’m thrilled to partner with the American Gaming Association to encourage fans, whether it’s during the Big Game or throughout the year, to keep it social and wager responsibly,” said Ingram.

Bettors are nearly split on the outcome of the game with 47 percent planning to bet on the Kansas City Chiefs and 44 percent planning to bet on the San Francisco 49ers.

Background

• 38 states and Washington, D.C currently feature live, legal sports betting markets.
• More than two-thirds of American adults (67%, 164M) 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. NFL team partners include the Washington Commanders and New York Jets.

Methodology
Morning Consult conducted the online survey on behalf of the AGA between January 30 – February 1, among a national sample of 2,204 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.

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Washington – Among Americans familiar with unregulated “skill” machines, a decisive majority recognize that these devices are games of chance, not skill, according to new American Gaming Association data. Two-thirds (65%) of those who are familiar with “skill” games say that they are no different from slot machines where wins are based on random chance, and that even a skilled player cannot reliably influence the outcome.

“Unregulated machine manufacturers have built their businesses by duping consumers and small businesses while avoiding taxes, oversight and consumer protections,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “These results are further evidence that Americans see these machines as a threat that should be eliminated, not regulated.”

“Skill” machines are often found in convenience stores, bars, strip malls and other community establishments, operating outside of the regulated gaming marketplace. Previous AGA research estimates that 580,651 unregulated gambling machines exist in the U.S., constituting 40 percent of all gambling machines nationwide.

The survey also reveals those familiar with “skill” games overwhelmingly view the machines as negative influences in their communities:

• 71 percent say “skill” machines lack the player protections that are available to players in casinos.
• 64 percent agree “skill” machines are too easily accessible to children.
• 56 percent say “skill” games increase the risk of crime and endanger employees and customers of businesses where devices are located.

Upon learning that “skill” machines are taxed at a far lower rate and lack the same regulatory oversight as casino slot machines, two-thirds of Americans familiar with “skill” games (64%) express concern about the presence of such devices in their communities.

“Keeping America’s gaming industry strong, safe and responsible can only be done through the robust infrastructure of the well-established legal market, not by rewarding bad actors with half-measures that fail to address the dangers of unregulated gambling,” continued Miller.  

The new AGA data comes as the AGA and other industry stakeholders testify today during a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on the presence of “skill” games in the state, hosted by Chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee Senator Katie Muth. The hearing will be held at 11am ET at the Radnor Township Municipal building in Wayne, PA (301 Iven Ave., Wayne, PA 19087) and can be streamed online here.

Background

• While most Americans see “skill” games as similar to traditional casino slots, AGA findings show for every dollar bet by consumers, regulated machines in Pennsylvania keep 7.7 cents on average, while unregulated machines across the country keep 25 cents.
• Americans wager $109 billion each year with unregulated “skill” machines according to AGA estimates, at an annual cost of $8.7 billion in state taxes and $27 billion in legal gaming revenue.
• In 2022, the legal gaming industry generated a record $13.49 billion in direct gaming tax revenue paid to state and local governments, not including billions more paid in income, sales and other taxes.
• Policymakers, regulators, consumers and gaming industry stakeholders and allies can find resources to join the fight against illegal gambling at StopIllegalGambling.org.

Methodology
Kantar, on behalf of the AGA, conducted an online survey from August 11-18, 2023, among a nationally representative sample of 2,002 American voters aged 21 and over. The margin of error is +/- 2 percent and greater among subgroups.

About the AGA
As the national trade group representing the U.S. casino industry, the American Gaming Association (AGA) fosters a policy and business environment where legal, regulated gaming thrives. The AGA’s diverse membership of commercial and tribal casino operators, sports betting and iGaming companies, gaming suppliers, and more lead the $261 billion industry and support 1.8 million jobs across the country.