New American Gaming Association (AGA) research shows sports bettors are moving their business away from illegal bookies and toward legal options. Average spending with illegal bookies fell 25 percent in legal sports betting states last year, while legal online and mobile betting spend increased 12 percent. Illegal offshore operators also saw a three percent increase in states with legal sports betting. The most influential factors for bettors who had shifted from the illegal to legal market are confidence that bets will be paid out (25%), awareness of legal options (20%), and a desire to use a regulated book (19%). “We’ve known…

The state regulation of sports betting is a better option for America. That is what Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs at the American Gaming Association (AGA), stated in testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, “Post-PASPA: An Examination of Sports Betting in America,”. She emphasized that federal oversight of sports betting is unnecessary in ongoing efforts to create effective legal sports betting markets in the United States. Highlights of Slane’s opening remarks include: “Because of the active, robust state and regulatory tribal gaming oversight, gaming is one of the most strictly…

Sara Slane, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the American Gaming Association, has been invited to speak before a Congressional Committee on Sports Betting. Ms. Slane will provide testimony on behalf of the gaming industry, highlighting the AGA’s core principles for legalized sports betting. The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations announced earlier that they will be holding a hearing titled “Post-PASPA: An Examination of Sports Betting in America” on Thursday, September 27th at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Information on additional witnesses for the Committee on Sports Betting hearing has not yet been finalized, but it…

The American Gaming Association is a vocal supporter of legal, regulated sports betting, including mobile wagering, yet the group has been deafeningly silent on the topic of online gambling. That silence could be coming to an end. With the US Supreme Court paving the way for states to take sports betting matters into their own hands, the AGA’s focus has shifted to legislation and ensuring that the new legal sports betting markets are successful and capture the sports betting dollars currently heading offshore. The AGA’s support of mobile sports betting is at odds with its position of “no position” when…

The American Gaming Association (AGA) has announced the addition of six new companies as board-level members. GVC Holdings PLC, Paddy Power Betfair, Stars Group, BMM Testlabs, Golden Entertainment and Choctaw Casinos and Resorts will all be represented on the AGA board of directors. Confirmation of the new additions comes after the AGA last week entered into a strategic alliance with BMM, under which the latter will share its expertise on gaming and regulatory issues with the AGA and its members. Geoff Freeman, president and chief executive of the AGA, said: “More than ever before, AGA’s diverse membership reflects the broad…

The casino industry’s largest lobbying group in the U.S. is ramping up its efforts to repeal a 25-year-old federal law that bans sports betting in most states. The American Gaming Association on Monday announced the creation of a coalition involving organizations of attorneys general and police, policymakers and others to advocate for the repeal of the ban that the industry says has fueled the $150 billion illegal sports betting market. “The American Gaming Association believes a perfect storm is aligning and now is the time to repeal a failing law,” Freeman said during the announcement. He cited a recent survey…