WASHINGTON – American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller released the following statement on bipartisan legislation introduced today by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) that would repeal the federal sports betting excise tax on legal operators:

“The federal sports betting excise tax was enacted more than 70 years ago as a tool to prosecute illegal sports betting operators. Today, with sports betting legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., this antiquated tax puts legal operators at a competitive disadvantage and rewards illegal offshore bookmakers that pay no federal or state taxes, offer no responsible gaming tools, and have no systems in place to prevent underage customers from using their platforms.

The AGA is grateful to Senators Cortez Masto and Hyde-Smith for their commitment to providing a safe, responsible sports betting market and to continuing to help migrate bettors out of the illegal market, which is bereft of consumer protections and a haven for bad actors and tax evaders. The AGA will continue to work with policymakers to enact legislation to address this harmful tax.”

Background

• The Internal Revenue Code currently imposes a federal excise tax of 0.25% on the amount of any legal sports wager, 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 is applied to the amount wagered and not the revenue, unlike any other excise tax. Meanwhile, the $50 head tax on each sportsbook employee further discourages job creation.
• Established in 1951, the excise tax was never intended to be a revenue source, but rather a tool for prosecuting illegal bookmaking operations that did not pay the tax.
• Even before paying the federal excise tax, sportsbooks are low margin businesses with high operating costs including licensing fees, state taxes and other compliance expenses.

As states across the country  consider sports betting-related legislation, several proposed bills include a fee payable to professional sports leagues, a so-called “integrity fee,” calculated as 1.0% of the total amount bet (handle). The initial rationale presented for such a fee was that leagues would require additional funds to bolster efforts related to monitoring the integrity of sports contests, although ensuing justifications for the fee have also included compensation for the leagues’ intellectual property.

To contribute to a broader foundation for discussing legalized sports betting, the American Gaming Commission commissioned Oxford Economics to analyze the implications of this League Fee tax structure. Our analysis consists of an independent assessment of the potential for various tax structures, including the League Fee option, to support legalized sports betting and satisfy the goals shared by both the sports leagues and gaming industry.

Washington, D.C. – The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates Americans will wager approximately $4.76 billion on Super Bowl 52 between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles. Due to a failed federal law, a staggering 97 percent of total wagers, equaling more than $4.6 billion, will be bet illegally across the United States.

Only 3 percent, or $138.5 million, of Super Bowl bets are expected to be legally wagered through licensed sports books in Nevada, the only state exempted from the federal ban on full-scale sports betting.

“Thanks to the failed federal ban on sports betting, Americans are sending billions of their hard-earned dollars to corner bookies, shady offshore operators and other criminal enterprises,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the American Gaming Association. “The big question we’re asking: Is 2018 finally the year when governments, sporting bodies and the gaming industry work together to put the illegal sports betting market out of business?”

The Supreme Court took an important first step in addressing the illegal sports betting market when it heard Christie v. NCAA in December 2017. The case is a challenge to the failed Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) and will likely lead to the law being declared unconstitutional or Congress revisiting its approach to sports wagering.

Last week, the National Basketball Association (NBA) joined the gaming industry in supporting the elimination of PASPA. The NBA also called for the government to mandate a 20 percent payment to the leagues on all legal betting revenue, before state taxpayers receive any proceeds.

“The NBA is an important stakeholder and we are pleased to see their active engagement,” said Freeman. “Unfortunately, their proposal would replace a failed federal law with bad state policy – robbing law enforcement, regulators and state taxpayers of additional resources. Eliminating the illegal market is in the public interest – and it is incumbent on each stakeholder to prove how their proposals achieve that critical objective.”

Background
 

• On December 4, 2017 the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Christie v. NCAA, which challenges the constitutionality of PASPA. The Court is expected to issue a decision on the case in the coming months.
   
• AGA filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court detailing the impacts of the failing federal sports betting ban. The brief highlighted the thriving $150 billion illegal sports betting market in the U.S.
   
• At least 14 states have active sports betting-related legislation, with more expected to introduce bills throughout 2018.
   
• According to a Washington Post survey 55% of Americans believe it is time to end the sports betting ban.

For more information, visit americangaming.org.

Methodology
In coming up with its illegal gambling estimates on the Super Bowl, the AGA took the most conservative estimate of illegal sports betting activity ($80 billion per year) from the 1999 National Gambling Impact Study Commission’s Final Report. It applied GDP growth as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis to make this current in 2017 dollars. Finally, the AGA assumed that the proportion of legal gambling activity on the Super Bowl at Nevada sports books is the best available indicator as to what proportion it might make up in the illegal market and applied this ratio to the larger illegal gambling figure.

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 be the single most effective champion of the industry, relentlessly protecting against harmful and often misinformed public policies, and paving a path for growth, innovation and reinvestment. 

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Integrity announced a new partnership with American Gaming Association’s (AGA) Have A Game Plan.^® Bet Responsibly.™ public service campaign. Through the partnership, U.S. Integrity will promote Have A Game Plan to its robust client list of professional and collegiate sports properties, as well as regulated sportsbook operators across North America.

“Responsible gaming education goes hand in hand with our mission to protect consumers and competitions,” said U.S. Integrity President and Founder Matthew Holt. “We look forward to teaming up with the AGA and Have A Game Plan partners across the sports and gaming ecosystem to help advance this important cause.”

Launched in 2019, AGA’s Have A Game Plan campaign brings sports betting stakeholders together around a common consumer education platform, focusing on the four principles of responsible wagering for those who choose to bet:

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

“Protecting customers and competition integrity is core to the success of a sustainable legal marketplace,” said AGA Senior Vice President Casey Clark. “From leagues and teams to sportsbooks and tech companies like U.S. Integrity, we’re proud that the broader sports betting ecosystem continues to unite behind Have A Game Plan as we collectively work to advance responsibility in sports betting nationwide.”

One of U.S. Integrity’s financing partners is SeventySix Capital, another member of Have A Game Plan. Additional campaign partners include Bally’s Corporation, Barstool Sportsbook, BetMGM, betPARX, DraftKings, Delaware North, Entain, FanDuel, Gaming Society, Global Payments, Major League Baseball, MGM Resorts International, MSG Network, Monumental Sports and Entertainment, NASCAR, NBA, NESN, New York Knicks, New York Jets, New York Rangers, NHL, Nuvei, Parx Casino, PENN Entertainment, PGA TOUR, Rush Street Interactive, Sightline Payments, Sinclair Broadcast Group, USFL, Vegas Golden Knights, VSiN and Washington Commanders.

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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.

About U.S. Integrity
U.S. Integrity is a leading technology-driven sports wagering monitoring company, providing the highest level of protection against betting-related fraud and corruption. U.S. Integrity’s mission is to grow the legal, regulated sports betting market by providing solutions that ensure sports betting integrity in every play, every game, every sport. Supported by investors including Las Vegas Sands, SeventySix Capital and the New York Angels, U.S. Integrity partners with some of the largest professional sports leagues and collegiate conferences in the U.S., as well as licensed sports-betting operators and regulators. U.S. Integrity is based in Las Vegas and New York. For additional information, visit www.usintegrity.com.

WASHINGTON – Today, American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on how the legal, regulated sports betting market ensures game and wager integrity, protects collegiate and professional athletes, and helps detect suspicious wagering and unlawful activity.

Click here to watch Miller’s testimony.

“The protection of the integrity of competition is central to the interests of the entire sports betting ecosystem,” testified Miller. “The federal prohibition on sports betting was a failed endeavor that we shouldn’t replicate. Instead, we should work together to further eliminate the pervasive illegal market, and support experienced regulators whose oversight protects the interests and integrity of all involved.”

Read a transcript of Miller’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, here and testimony submitted for the record here.

In his testimony, Miller reiterated that the only way to protect athletes and competition from corruption is through continued legalization. “Nobody has a greater vested interest in avoiding scandal than legal gaming operators. In fact, licensed sportsbooks in Nevada have historically been the first to uncover match fixing, identifying irregular betting patterns and alerting regulators,” he said.

Miller encouraged Congress to consider increasing the maximum federal penalty for match-fixing and repeal the federal excise tax on sports wagers, which puts legal sportsbooks at a competitive disadvantage.

According to AGA research, 74 percent of American sports bettors say it is important to only bet through legal providers. Since the Supreme Court declared the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act unconstitutional in May 2018, 22 states and the District of Columbia have authorized sports betting.

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 record 46.6 million American adults (18%) plan to bet on the upcoming National Football League (NFL) season, up three percent year-over-year, according to new American Gaming Association (AGA) research.

Importantly, since the NFL kick-off coincides with the beginning of Responsible Gaming Education Month, nine in ten (92%) U.S. sports bettors report awareness of responsible gaming tools.

“The sustained interest in NFL wagering reflects the growth and continued maturation of legal sports betting across the country,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “Consumers clearly want legal sports betting options and understand the regulated industry’s foundational commitments to responsibility.”

As legalization spreads, bettors are moving away from bookies and toward regulated options. Of American adults:

• 23 million will place a bet online this season, up 18 percent from 2021.
• 6 million will place a bet in-person at a sportsbook this season, up two percent from 2021.
• Just 13 percent of NFL bettors say they will use a bookie, down two points from last year (15%) and five points from 2020 (18%).
• Bookie usage is 50 percent higher in states without legalized sports betting.

Today, more than half (132 million) of American adults can legally wager in their home state, 18 million more than this time last year. Demonstrating consumer confidence in regulated sportsbooks, nine in 10 (89%) of past-year sports bettors say it is very or somewhat important that they bet with a legal, regulated sportsbook.

Consumer protections are central to the legal marketplace, and past-year sports bettors recognize the industry’s responsibility commitments:

• 90 percent recall seeing or hearing about responsible gaming in the past year.
• 51 percent saw or heard more responsible gaming information in the past 12 months than they had in previous years.

The majority of past-year sports bettors believe responsible gaming programs are very or somewhat effective (82%) and that the gaming industry is committed to encouraging responsible gaming and combatting problem gambling (81%).

“Responsibility is an underpinning of regulated U.S. sports betting and a clear competitive advantage as we continue to build a sustainable marketplace,” Miller added.

Among NFL bettors, the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9%) are the most popular picks to win Super Bowl LVII, followed by the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs (8%) and the Dallas Cowboys (7%). The Super Bowl will be played in a legal sports betting jurisdiction (Arizona) for the first time in February 2023.

Background

• Sports betting is currently legal in 36 states and Washington, D.C., with 32 jurisdictions already offering operational markets. 18 of the 22 states that are home to NFL teams have legalized sports betting.
• Connecticut, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland and Wisconsin launched new markets since the start of the 2021 NFL season.
• Americans have legally wagered more than $50.4 billion on sports in the first seven months of 2022, generating more than $809 million in federal, state and local taxes.
• 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.

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Methodology
Morning Consult, on behalf of the American Gaming Association, conducted an online survey August 25-27, 2022, among a national sample of 2,210 American adults regarding their betting plans on the upcoming NFL season. The data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, educational attainment, gender, race 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, squares or paid fantasy contest, or casually with family or friends.

Kantar, on behalf of the American Gaming Association, conducted an online survey August 17-23, 2022, among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 American voters aged 21 and over related to responsible gaming and industry perceptions. The margin of error is +/- 2 percent and greater among subgroups.

Americans expect to wager $8.5 billion on this year’s NCAA men’s basketball  tournament, with 1-in-5 adults placing a bet, according to American Gaming Association research.

Key findings from the survey include:

• 47 million American adults will wager $8.5 billion on March Madness
• $4.6 billion will be wagered on a collective 149 million brackets by more than 40 million people
• In addition to those filling out brackets, 18 million more Americans will place $3.9 billion in bets at a sportsbook, online, with a bookie or with a friend
  • 4.1 million will bet at a casino sportsbook or using a legal app
  • 2.4 million will bet illegally with a bookie and 5.2 million more will bet online, likely at an illegal offshore site
• There is a direct correlation between entertainment and fan engagement. 57% of Americans acknowledged that if a team they bet on was in the Final Four, those games would be more entertaining
• Sports bettors are a valuable demographic: 24% of men and 27% of those making more than $100,000 a year will fill out a bracket

Previous AGA research has found that sports pool betting – including popular March Madness bracket contests – are illegal in many states.

The widespread betting on March Madness highlights Americans’ interest in sports betting and reinforces the need for states to provide a legal, regulated market for sports betting.

Methodology

This survey was conducted on behalf of the AGA by Morning Consult between March 1-7, 2019, among a national sample of 11,002 adults. The interviews were conducted online, and 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 +/- 1% and greater among subgroups. Bettors include those who expect to place a bet online, with a bookie, with a casino sportsbook, casually with a friend or participate in a bracket contest.