Pulse
LEGISLATION AMERICAN GAMING ASSOCIATION
$3.71bn in revenue. Combined sports betting and iGaming revenue for the year totalled $8bn, up 158 per cent from 2020, accounting for 15.1 per cent of annual industry gaming revenue.
“More Americans than ever now have the ability to legally bet on sports,” comments Miller. “Prior to May 2018, the only place you could legally bet on sports in America was Nevada and what we've seen since is incredibly robust growth in the states.
“A legal, safe, and regulated market protects consumers and is recognition of a truism: sports fans like to bet on sports. Why shouldn't we give them legal options that create consumer protections, tax revenue and jobs?”
Last month's Super Bowl matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals saw a record 31.4m Americans bet an estimated $7.61bn on the championship game, according to the American Gaming Association's estimates.
18.2m American adults were expected to place traditional sports wagers online, at a retail sportsbook or with a bookie, up 78 per ent from 2021. Since last year's Super Bowl, an additional ten states have gone live, taking the total to 33 states (plus the District of Columbia), 30 of which are operational.
“In the last year, 45 million more Americans have been able legally bet so it is not too surprising about the number of people who have bet on the Super Bowl this year,” remarks Miller.
However, it’s not just new states bolstering the figures. Take Pennsylvania for example. 2022 is the fourth year in which legal sports wagering are available in the Keystone State for the Super Bowl and the third for online wagering options. Preliminary figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board show that $68m was wagered in the Commonwealth on the event through retail and online sportsbooks - a 27 per cent increase over wagers placed on the game last year.
CHANGED PERCEPTIONS
In 2021, the American Gaming Association’s singular focus was to accelerate gaming’s recovery, primarily through engaging with Capitol Hill and within the Biden Administration to block recovery-slowing policies such as new taxes, support initiatives including the reopening of international travel, and advance industry leadership on BSA-AML compliance.
"Tere have been a number of big economic and financial packages that have gone through
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Congress in the last 20 years - from post 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina and the recession of 08/09. On each occasion, the gaming industry was carved out specifically and intentionally to not receive aid because of negative stereotypes.
"Now look at how we were treated by the federal government, both by the previous and current administration, in the CARES Act. It included us in federal relief - from access to loans from the federal reserve and employer retention tax credits to small businesses being able to get loans from the small business administration.
"Tat was a watershed moment. Te gaming industry was being treated the same as everyone else.”
Miller believes the change in perception of the industry on Capitol Hill and the Biden administration stems from how gaming operates its business. “When state legislators consider allowing casinos, what we have shown over decades is that many of the stereotypes that have long been trotted out - property values going down, crime spiralling, low tax revenues, little job creation - are false.
"In every dynamic, the opposite is true. Property values go up, crime doesn't, tax receipts far exceed expectations set out when legislation was drawn up, and economic opportunities are very strong.
"People see what we look like in the communities in which we operate, and they see a positive economic and community force. Oftentimes we are seeing casino developments in towns that have not seen economic opportunity for many years, such as in areas of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
"Tese were robust economies 80 years ago that have fallen on tough times. When a casino comes in, they bring in construction jobs first, followed by restaurants, retail, and hotels. Tis has a very positive spill-over economic effect on the community.
“I've been in government most of my life and when I lobby on behalf of this industry and talk about what it is we do, legislators now recognise the benefits."
"There have been a number of big economic and financial packages that have gone through Congress in the last 20 years - from post 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina and the recession of 08/09. On each occasion, the gaming industry was carved out specifically and intentionally to not receive aid because of negative stereotypes.”
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