Probing gambling study reveals $329bn economic impact for the US

Article by : Charles Perrin Oct 10, 2023

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According to a comprehensive review, the gambling industry has experienced exponential growth in the past few years, which has had a desired economic impact on the US.

A study by prominent Oxford academics and subsequently published by the American Gaming Association (AGA) shows that $ 329 billion has been generated yearly for the country’s economy.

Commercial and tribal casinos have been pulling their weight, supporting 1.8 million jobs, with approximately 700,000 people employed by the casinos or other related businesses.

Compared to 2017, these jobs supposedly engineered $104bn in wages, indicating a 40% rise. Moreover, there was a 26% rise in economic impact when assessing the results from six years ago.

Separate research by the AGA shows that nearly 50% of all American adults engaged in some form of gambling-related activity over the past year, while around 70% of Americans interviewed thought the gambling sector had had a significant impact on the US economy.

The US’s gambling industry is highly lucrative, with around $53bn stumped up last year to pay taxes to local, federal, and state governments.

Yes, casinos are powerful drivers, and with well over half of all 50 states enjoying some form of recognised gambling, the astonishing figure reflected above is only expected to rise.

Discussing the extraordinary progress the US has made about gambling, Bill Miller, president and CEO of the AGA, said: “Think back to where we were a few years ago with nearly 1,000 casinos, almost all of them closed.

“Today, we’re seeing record revenue in the industry.”

Naturally, there is still a prevalent threat in terms of offshore casinos becoming entrenched in the gambling psyche. This threat is particularly significant when considering offshore online casinos similar to those listed on RealMoneyAction.

However, with more Americans on board the legalised gambling bandwagon, there are no signs the industry will slow down. If anything, this is only the beginning.