According to a recent report by the American Gaming Association (AGA), it is estimated that Americans engage in gambling activities worth approximately $511 billion annually on unregulated sportsbooks and iGaming websites.
Consider this: The state government suffers an annual tax revenue loss of $13.3 billion due to this practice. It’s worth noting that this amount surpasses the total generated by legal operators in 2021, which amounted to $11.7 billion. This significant difference of $2.5 billion should be taken into account.
According to the study, unregulated sports betting emerged as the most popular form of gambling, followed by online slots and table games. The findings revealed that nearly half (49%) of the bettors from the previous year placed their wagers with illegal operators. Additionally, a staggering amount of $63.8 million was wagered through illegal booking and offshore sites.
According to the findings, it was revealed that there are approximately 580,651 unregulated “skill machines” in the United States, while the number of regulated ones amounts to 870,000. As a result, it can be concluded that unlicensed gaming machines make up around 40% of the total gaming machines in the country.
The CEO and President of the AGA commented, “We have long been aware of the extensive nature of the illegal and unregulated market, but this report provides a clearer picture of just how widespread it truly is.”
About The Study
A survey was conducted by the Innovation Group on behalf of the AGA, involving 5,284 adults in the United States. The survey aimed to investigate the gambling behaviors of participants in the previous year, encompassing both legal and illegal activities. Additionally, the survey also examined the participants’ perspectives on unregulated gaming machines and utilized public data for further analysis.
