Hard-hitting report uncovers problem of illegal online gambling in the US

Article by : Erik Gibbs Jun 7, 2024

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A key report has painted a rather disturbing picture of the US online gambling landscape.

In a study carried out by the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG), which describes itself as a gambling reform group “with deep knowledge of the gambling sector in the US”, utilized data from Yield Sec, an online marketplace intelligence platform.

Indeed, the Yield Sec data revealed that three US states – Minnesota, New Jersey, and New York, have missed out on $9.5 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) due to the activities of rogue operators.

As a whole, the figure represents almost a quarter of the total $40.92 billion that is accrued in illegal GGR across the US gambling industry.

In terms of the breakdown of states, nearly 50% of total online marketplace GGR ($3.4 billion) was attributed to illegal online casino gaming in New York while a further 27% ($1.9 billion) was due to illegal online sports betting.

In stark contrast, New Jersey saw more money lost through illegal online sports betting ($996 million) compared to illegal online casino gaming ($719 million).

This isn’t the first time that the CFG has commissioned the YS for data, and in a previous report, an investigation was carried out on online gambling on Super Bowl LVIII.

However, there is a consensus among the CFG that there needs to be greater levels of enforcement to tackle illegal operators.

CFG founder Derek Webb recently said: “The dominance of illgeal online gambling operators remains unchallenged despite the expansion of legal gambling.

“Sector-friendly legislation, regulation, and tax rates have not made much of a dent. Despite wildly different legal regimes, these three states continue to accommodate over 800 illegal operators who operate with zero tolerance for the law.

“There is one reason why we need federal involvement in the oversight of online gambling. We are eager to equip policymakers with real, reliable data so that we can have more informed, balanced debate, and ultimately smarter gambling policy.”

The wheels of justice in the US can often turn slowly, but greater federal oversight may prove to be futile, especially when it comes to allocating resources properly.

Nevertheless, the study published is a salient matter, and state law agencies need to change tack to bring unregulated gambling under control.