Americans’ positive view of the gaming industry continues to grow as the U.S. legal market expands. New research from the American Gaming Association (AGA) shows that two-thirds of adults view the industry as a positive economic contributor that provides high-quality jobs and 73 percent support legalized sports betting in their state.
Americans also see gaming as a good community partner. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans believe the gaming industry behaves responsibly and a majority (57%) believe the industry gives back in the communities where it operates.
“We are a committed, responsible partner and economic driver in communities across the country,” said AGA President and CEO Bill Miller. “Because of this, we’ve risen from the most devastating period in our history and embarked on a record-setting comeback.”
Americans are taking notice of the industry’s responsible gaming efforts. The number of Americans who say the industry is committed to responsible gaming has increased by nearly 40 percent since 2018. Further, nearly 80 percent of past-year gamblers are aware of industry-provided responsible gaming resources. Of this group, three-quarters point to specific measures like deposit limits, casino employee training, and time limits as most effective.
These findings come at the start of Responsible Gaming Education Week (RGEW), Sept. 19-25, which brings together all industry stakeholders to promote responsible gaming education while also showcasing the industry’s everyday commitment to responsible gaming.
“Responsible Gaming Education Week provides an opportunity to highlight the tremendous work our members and industry do every day to invest in responsible gaming education,” continued Miller. “As legal gaming expands to new geographies and verticals, everyone engaged with legal gaming must work together to grow responsibly—our collective success depends on it.”
RGEW 2021 features AGA’s Have A Game Plan.® Bet Responsibly.™ public service campaign, which is uniting the growing sports betting industry to educate and encourage responsible sports wagering. Through partnerships with sports leagues and teams, gaming operators and suppliers, and media companies, the campaign teaches consumers the fundamentals of responsible sports wagering: setting a budget and sticking to it, knowing the odds, keeping it social, and only playing with legal operators.
The AGA, with its members, is building a responsible foundation for legal sports betting. AGA’s Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering, launched a year ago, defines a robust set of principles to protect consumers and sets a high standard for advertising with self-imposed restrictions on target audiences, outlets, and materials branding, while mandating responsible gaming inclusion across marketing activity.
Ensuring consumers have effective, accessible resources if they need help is key to sustainable growth. The AGA recently released policy recommendations for streamlining helpline requirements in national or multistate advertising campaigns, which have since been adopted in Indiana.
Casino gaming is legal in 44 states with the addition of four states in the last five years. Sports betting is legal in 32 states and the District of Columbia while six states offer legal iGaming.
Through July, the commercial gaming industry has generated $4.83 billion in 2021, putting the industry on pace to break its annual revenue record set in 2019. The AGA’s Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker is tracking gaming’s record-setting recovery.
Methodology
Survey results come from two online polls conducted on behalf of the American Gaming Association in the late summer among national samples of 2,000 Americans. The data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on age, educational attainment, gender, race, and region. Results from the two full surveys have a margin of error of +/-2%.
- Kantar fielded its survey between August 13-September 1, 2021 among a national sample of 2,000 American voters aged 21 and older.
- YouGov conducted its survey between June 26-31, 2021 among a national sample of 2,033 American aged 21 and older.
