American Gaming Association: Illegal US market worth $300bn in lost handle
CEO Bill Miller rails against “direct threat” to regulated market in new rallying cry
America’s illegal US betting and gaming market costs the regulated market an estimated $300bn annually, according to the American Gaming Association (AGA).
The disclosure was made during AGA CEO Bill Miller’s opening address at G2E, in which he called on industry stakeholders to make a concerted effort to defend the regulated market from offshore sites.
Drawing on the data, due to be published in November, Miller revealed as much as $15bn in revenue is directly going to illegal operators, with a loss of $4bn in taxation revenue for states with regulated markets.
In his speech, Miller labelled them a “direct threat” to the ongoing security of the market, attacking the lack of protections that exist throughout the regulated market.
Issuing a rallying cry, Miller continued: “We’re taking the illegal and unregulated market on with every weapon at our disposal.
“We’re engaging all levels of the government from the Department of Justice to Congress to governor state legislatures and attorneys general. We can do this because the AGA has earned a seat at the table through years of building trust with national and state leaders,” he added.
Expanding on this, Miller revealed attempts by illegal operators to harass and intimidate AGA officials, but remained undaunted about continuing the drive towards sustaining regulation.
“Our answer is bring it on. They [illegal operators] can’t stand up to the scrutiny of the court of public opinion, and they most certainly can’t stand up to the scrutiny of justice or the court of law,” Miller explained.
“They need to be shut down but we know we can’t do this alone.
“It’s going to require law enforcement to get aggressive and go after bad actors, businesses to remove unregulated issues, tech companies and the media to cut off these illegal platforms, and policymakers to strengthen laws and close the polls.
“This is a fight we’re in for the long haul. We’re not going to win it overnight but together we can. We’ll make it much, much harder for them to do business here,” he added.
Miller’s comments were echoed later on during G2E’s opening day by PENN Entertainment CEO Jay Snowden who attacked the illegal sector, drawing particular examples in illegal machines operated in truck stops across the US.
“This is an existential issue for the industry, a reputational issue for the industry, and we need help getting on it from regulators and lawmakers,” Snowden said.
“We need help putting these people behind bars if that’s what it takes, prosecuting them and it’s a real issue for the sector. This is an absolute catastrophe for the sector and something we need help to get on and deal with it,” he added.