WASHINGTON – Today, the American Gaming Association released the following statement commending Reps. Dina Titus (NV-01) and Darin LaHood (IL-18) for asking the U.S. Treasury Department to raise the threshold for reporting slot tax winnings from $1,200 to $5,000.
According to federal regulation, when a casino patron wins a slot machine jackpot of $1,200 or more, the machine is temporarily taken out of production while the patron is required to complete a W-2G tax reporting form. While slot jackpots have steadily increased with inflation over the past several decades, the $1,200 threshold that triggers the issuance of tax forms has remained static since it was established in 1977. A $1,200 jackpot in 1977 would be equivalent to more than $5,000 today if adjusted for inflation.
Because the threshold hasn’t tracked with inflation, there has been a significant increase in the number of reportable jackpots, causing more operational inefficiencies and adding to the sea of W-2G forms currently flooding an underbudgeted and understaffed IRS each year.
“Casinos are the only businesses that must take their assets out of production to comply with their tax information reporting obligations. The current federal regulations on reporting slot machine winnings have been outdated for decades, creating inefficiencies, paperwork and unnecessary hurdles,” said Bill Miller, president and chief executive officer of the American Gaming Association. “The gaming industry strongly supports the efforts of Reps. Titus and LaHood to update the antiquated threshold for reporting slot machine winnings while relieving associated burdens for casinos, their patrons and the IRS alike.”
In a February 6, 2019 letter to Congress, Miller listed raising the current slot tax reporting threshold to $5,000 as one of AGA’s top priorities for the 116th Congress.
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.
Anti-Human Trafficking
The American Gaming Association and the gaming industry are committed to combating human trafficking in all its forms.
The American Gaming Association and the gaming industry are committed to combating human trafficking in all its forms. By educating employees and guests about its most common indicators, and by working with law enforcement and other partners, casinos can and will make an impact in eradicating this form of modern-day slavery.
The AGA Anti-Human Trafficking Task force is comprised of member representatives with expertise in security, hospitality, anti-money laundering compliance, legal and other specialized sectors of our industry.
New Anti-Human Trafficking Training
In partnership with RG24seven, the AGA launched a first-of-its-kind training to educate gaming industry employees on how to combat human trafficking.
Available to all gaming companies beginning today, the free training is based on AGA’s Guide to Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking and draws on expertise from AGA’s Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force, nonprofits and law enforcement.
The training uses videos, quizzes and expert voices to educate participants, who will receive a verified certificate upon successful completion. To request organization-wide access to the training, gaming company executives, managers and other representatives should contact .
Industry Toolkit: National Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Join the gaming industry this January in recognizing National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Our industry toolkit includes:
- Social Media Graphics
- Key Messages
- Additional Resources
Resource Guide: Preventing and Combating Human Trafficking in the Gaming Industry
Traffickers take advantage of legitimate industries and supply chains to find, exploit and traffic victims. This is especially true for the travel and tourism industry—including casino gaming. Human trafficking may be linked to other illegal enterprises such as narcotics or firearm trafficking, terrorist organizations and money laundering.
The AGA recognizes the gaming industry has a moral and legal obligation to ensure that our customers and employees are in a safe environment acting of their own free will, and to take meaningful steps to identify and prevent human trafficking. Awareness, due diligence, and training are critical to protecting vulnerable individuals and keeping criminal activities out of our industry.
Casino gaming is one of the most highly regulated industries in the U.S., with more than 4,000 state and tribal regulators dedicated to overseeing all forms of gaming, including electronic gaming machines. The recent growth of unregulated machines across the country raises concerns including lack of testing, consumer protections, responsible gaming measures, and ultimately deprivation of legitimate gaming operations and economic impacts, as described by AGEM and the AGA*.
Join G2E Insider LIVE for a fresh perspective on combating unregulated gaming machines. Discussion will touch on effective ways to collaborate with law enforcement, policymakers, and regulators on this essential priority, while also educating consumers on how to identify and protect themselves against illegal machines.
*https://agemonline.org/factsheet.pdf
Speakers:
Rick Kalm, Executive Director, Michigan Gaming Control Board
Ed Davis, CEO, Edward Davis LLC Security and Management Consulting, former Boston Police Commissioner
Kevin Mullally, Vice President, Government Relations & General Counsel, GLI
Moderator: Jess Feil, Vice President, Government Relations and Gaming Policy Counsel, AGA
Nominations Now Open for the 33rd Annual Gaming Hall of Fame
For more than 30 years, the Gaming Hall of Fame has recognized leaders who have distinguished themselves through significant contributions to the gaming industry. Consider nominating a leader that has helped the industry succeed for this highest honor.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, May 27.
Nomination Process
Nominations for the 2022 Gaming Hall of Fame are open through Friday, May 27 at 11:59 PM ET and must include nominee’s full name, mailing address, email address, and an entry detailing why they should be inducted using 500 words or less.
Hundreds of qualified candidates are reviewed by an independent panel of gaming executives who select the annual Hall of Fame class. Inductees are chosen based upon their career achievements, community involvement, and innovative contributions to the industry. Inductees will be notified and announced in late summer 2022.
The 2022 inductees will be honored at the invite-only Chairman’s Reception featuring the Gaming Hall of Fame Ceremony at G2E Las Vegas on October 11, 2022.
WASHINGTON – The American Gaming Association (AGA) today launched AGA Elevate, a new education program focused on providing value to the gaming-entertainment industry, and opened registration for AGA Elevate’s inaugural event, AGA Elevate | Lead – Adapt to Win.
The first AGA Elevate event will take place on Monday, August 13, 2018, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, and will focus on leadership development. Led by author, consultant and executive coach Dr. Mary C. Kelly, the event will help attendees better foster adaptive capacity to improve business efficiency and profits.
AGA Elevate follows the fourth pillar of AGA’s 2020 Strategic Plan, which aims to leverage the power of the industry to build member value beyond advocacy. The innovative education program will offer face-to-face and virtual opportunities to engage in critical business topics:
- Grow: Emerging trends, business growth and development and new or potential market expansion opportunities for the industry;
- Innovate: Opportunities to maximize operations through technology;
- Lead: Essential leadership and professional skills; and
- Respond: Crisis management and emergency preparedness.
“AGA Elevate is a first-of-its-kind program that will address current industry trends while raising the profile on issues that impact the future of the gaming industry, including human rights, robotics, emotional intelligence and payments solutions,” said Allie Barth, vice president of industry relations of AGA.
For more information about AGA Elevate | Lead – Adapt to Win, click here.
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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.
Membership
Members join the American Gaming Association for influence, insights, and connections.
Our Industry Game Changers
We’re proud to represent the full spectrum of the legal, regulated gaming industry, ensuring every voice has a seat at the table. Our diverse membership spans the entire ecosystem of gaming, including commercial and tribal casino operators, suppliers, sports betting operators, and others shaping the future of the industry.
The Power of Membership
Members join the American Gaming Association for influence, insights,
and connections.
Membership Advantages
Our members benefit from exclusive research and data, communications tools, and networking and learning opportunities with industry peers to more effectively pursue shared interests and business opportunities.
Market Data
Exclusive research with actionable insights
- We empower members to enhance their business and improve their ability to proactively plan by providing exclusive, members-only research. Membership means always having the best information available.
- Members can also leverage the AGA’s experienced research team by requesting custom data and other research support
Industry Influence and Collaboration
An established network of customers and policymakers
- Crafting Policy Positions – Through board and committee participation, members define and craft industry positions on crucial issues.
- Connect at Member-Only Events – Members enjoy exclusive opportunities to engage with industry peers and build valuable relationships, deepening vital C-level connections across the gaming industry.
- Access to the AGA’s Experts – Members can access business-critical insights into government relations, research, compliance, state and regulatory affairs, gaming policy and public affairs
G2E
The AGA’s flagship event, with 25,000+ attendees
- Members as Thought Leaders – As co-owners of G2E, we prioritize and encourage our members to submit topics and speakers for the education program.
- Savings – Members are eligible to receive significant savings as both attendees and exhibitors.
- The AGA Member Lounge – An exclusive space for high-level conversations and deal-making
Market Data
Exclusive research with actionable insights
- We empower members to enhance their business and improve their ability to proactively plan by providing exclusive, members-only research. Membership means always having the best information available.
- Members can also leverage the AGA’s experienced research team by requesting custom data and other research support
Industry Influence and Collaboration
An established network of customers and policymakers
- Crafting Policy Positions – Through board and committee participation, members define and craft industry positions on crucial issues.
- Connect at Member-Only Events – Members enjoy exclusive opportunities to engage with industry peers and build valuable relationships, deepening vital C-level connections across the gaming industry.
- Access to the AGA’s Experts – Members can access business-critical insights into government relations, research, compliance, state and regulatory affairs, gaming policy and public affairs
G2E
The AGA’s flagship event, with 25,000+ attendees
- Members as Thought Leaders – As co-owners of G2E, we prioritize and encourage our members to submit topics and speakers for the education program.
- Savings – Members are eligible to receive significant savings as both attendees and exhibitors.
- The AGA Member Lounge – An exclusive space for high-level conversations and deal-making
Membership Types
With coordinated effort, AGA continues to seek ways to better represent the legal and regulated gaming industry, strengthening our industry’s voice, and providing learning and networking opportunities with industry peers.
Core Membership
AGA core members are commercial and tribal casino land-based and online operators and gaming suppliers licensed to operate in the United States. Core members benefit from our exclusive research and insights, relationship-building and networking opportunities, and cost savings and discounts on AGA’s flagship event, G2E.
Ally Membership
AGA’s ally membership program connects businesses both inside and outside the gaming industry to AGA’s core membership of casino operators and suppliers. We foster relationships between core and ally members to help increase industry engagement and support shared business objectives.
Our Impact
With membership representing every corner of the gaming industry, AGA serves as the industry’s champion across the country by advocating on complex issues that individual members cannot change alone.
Today, the American Gaming Association (AGA) received the American Business Awards’ Gold Stevie Award for the best communications campaign of 2018.
“Our work with the industry to promote the social and economic benefits of legal sports betting last year paid off, and jurisdictions and consumers are now seeing the results firsthand through increased consumer protections, new tax revenue for state and local governments and dozens of private partnerships between leagues, teams and gaming companies,” said Bill Miller, AGA’s president and chief executive officer. “This distinction is a great honor, and we look forward to continuing our work to enable legal, regulated sports betting to compete with the dangerous illegal market.”
Throughout 2018, AGA worked aggressively to educate policymakers, sports stakeholders and the public about the failures of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA), and make the case for legal, regulated sports betting in the United States. AGA effectively quantified the size of the existing illegal sports betting market and the economic opportunities enabled by legal sports betting for sports leagues, states and sovereign tribal nations. The association’s amici brief was cited twice by the Supreme Court in its May 2018 ruling to overturn PASPA.
AGA has also been recognized by Association TRENDS and Sports Business Journal for its work on sports betting in 2018.
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
Washington, D.C. – Americans gamble an estimated $511 billion each year with illegal and unregulated sportsbooks, iGaming websites and so-called “skill games,” according to a new report from the American Gaming Association.
This illegal wagering robs state governments of $13.3 billion in tax revenue annually, nearly $2.5 billion more than legal operators generated in 2021 ($11.7 billion). It also costs the legal gaming industry $44.2 billion in annual revenue, or nearly half of the $92 billion in combined commercial and tribal revenue in 2021.
“Illegal and unregulated gambling is a scourge on our society, taking advantage of vulnerable consumers, skirting regulatory obligations and robbing communities of critical tax revenue for infrastructure, education and more,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “We have always known that the illegal and unregulated market is expansive, but this report illuminates just how pervasive it is.”
Sports Betting Findings
AGA’s report estimates that Americans wager $63.8 billion with illegal bookies and offshore sites at a cost of $3.8 billion in gaming revenue and $700 million in state taxes. With Americans projected to place $100 billion in legal sports bets this year, these findings imply that illegal sportsbook operators are capturing nearly 40 percent of the U.S. sports betting market.
While the numbers are significant, they also demonstrate Americans’ movement to the regulated market with legal sports betting’s expansion to 36 states and the District of Columbia.
The report also found that 49 percent of past-year sports bettors have placed a bet with an illegal operator. Previous AGA research shows that more than half of Americans that bet on sports with illegal operators believe they are wagering legally.
iGaming Findings
Americans wager an estimated $337.9 billion with illegal iGaming websites, with a loss of $3.9 billion in state tax revenue. With $13.5 billion in estimated revenue, the illegal iGaming market in the U.S. is nearly three times the size of the legal U.S. iGaming market, estimated to be $5 billion in 2022.
With iGaming only legal in six states, nearly half of Americans (48%) that have played online slots or table games in the past year have played with illegal online casinos.
Unregulated “Skill Machine” Findings
Unregulated gaming machines also continue to proliferate, with an estimated 580,651 unregulated machines in the U.S. With 870,000 regulated machines in casinos and slot routes, that means 40% of all gaming machines in the U.S. are unlicensed.
Based on state regulatory data for similar machines, the operator win percentage on unregulated gambling machines is significantly higher than legal casino slot machines. During the past 12 months, slot machines in Nevada have a 7.16 percent win rate, compared to a nearly 25 percent estimated win rate for unregulated machines—demonstrating how unregulated machines take advantage of customers.
“All stakeholders—policymakers, law enforcement, regulators, legal businesses—must work together to root out the illegal and unregulated gambling market. This is a fight we’re in for the long haul to protect consumers, support communities and defend the law-abiding members of our industry.”
Methodology
The study was conducted by The Innovation Group on behalf of the American Gaming Association and is based largely on a survey of 5,284 U.S adults, examining their past-year gambling behaviors with both legal and illegal operators as well as their observations of unregulated gaming machines. It also incorporates publicly available data on the size of the legal U.S. gaming market and certain state gaming machine markets.
Background
- Commercial or tribal casino gaming is legal in 42 states, iGaming is legal in six states, and sports betting is legal is 36 states and Washington, D.C.
- AGA’s State of Play Map provides a state-by-state look at legal, regulated gaming in the U.S.
- StopIllegalGambling.com provides additional resources for consumers, industry stakeholders and media to raise awareness on the importance of eliminating illegal gambling and bolster efforts to combat illegal operators.
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Washington, D.C. – Greenwood Racing Inc., the parent company of Parx Casino® and betPARX®, has joined the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Have a Game Plan.® Bet Responsibly.™ campaign.
Through the partnership, Parx will promote responsible gaming consumer education at its sportsbooks, through its betPARX app, and on its digital channels.
“Responsible gaming is an integral part of Greenwood Racing’s sports betting strategy,” said Parx Chief Marketing Officer Marc Oppenheimer. “We’re excited to extend our longstanding commitment to responsible gaming consumer education through this partnership with the AGA.”
Launched in 2019, the Have A Game Plan campaign unites the broader sports betting ecosystem around a common consumer education platform, focusing on four principles of responsible wagering:
- Set a budget and stick to it.
- Keep it social—sports betting is a form of entertainment.
- Know the odds.
- Play with trusted, regulated operators.
“The AGA is thrilled to welcome Parx Casino® and betPARX® as Have A Game Plan campaign partners,” said AGA Senior Vice President Casey Clark. “The expansion of legal sports betting options—to 130 million Americans today—reinforces the importance of bringing together as many voices as possible to educate consumers on responsible wagering.”
Parx joins campaign partners across the sports, media, and gaming landscape, including Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, DraftKings, Delaware North, Entain, FanDuel, Global Payments, MGM Resorts International, MSG Network, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, NASCAR, New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Rangers, NHL, Nuvei, Penn National Gaming, PGA TOUR, Rush Street Interactive, SeventySix Capital, Sightline Payments, Sinclair Broadcast Group, UFC, USFL, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Commanders.
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. & WASHINGTON, D.C., March 9, 2022 – The new United States Football League (USFL) today announced it has joined the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Have A Game Plan.® Bet Responsibly.™ public service campaign. The USFL will promote responsible sports wagering through its broadcast, cable, streaming and social media outlets.
“We’re proud to partner with the AGA to help drive the important message to bet responsibly,” said Edward Hartman, USFL Executive Vice President of Business Operations. “As sports wagering expands nationwide, the USFL is committed to help educate our fans so they can better enjoy the experience.”
Today, sports wagering is legal in 33 states and the District of Columbia, and 50 percent of American adults can now bet legally in their home state.
“Responsible gaming leadership from professional sports leagues like the USFL is critical to getting sports betting right,” said AGA Senior Vice President Casey Clark. “We’re thrilled to welcome the USFL as a partner and value their commitment to prioritizing responsible sports wagering education for their fans.”
Launched in 2019, the Have A Game Plan campaign promotes four principles of responsible sports wagering:
- Set a budget and stick to it.
- Keep it social.
- Know the odds.
- Play with trusted, regulated operators.
The USFL joins campaign partners across the sports, media, and sports wagering landscape, including Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, Delaware North, DraftKings, Entain, FanDuel, Global Payments, MGM Resorts International, MSG Network, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, NASCAR, New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Rangers, NHL, Nuvei, Penn National Gaming, PGA TOUR, Rush Street Interactive, SeventySix Capital, Sightline Payments, Sinclair Broadcast Group, UFC, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Commanders.
The USFL inaugural kickoff game on April 16 begins at 7:30 PM ET (6:30 PM CT) at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium. The primetime matchup pits the New Jersey Generals against the Birmingham Stallions and will be presented live on FOX, NBC and Peacock. It is the first scheduled sports competition to air at the same time on two competitive networks since Super Bowl I broadcasted on NBC and CBS, January 15, 1967.
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