Gambling Reportedly Added $261 Billion to Economy in 2017

The expansion of the gambling industry in the U.S. has seen big results.

According to a report by the American Gaming Association and Oxford Economics, there’s been a 9.5 percent increase in gambling-related sales across the country in the brief period of time between 2014 and 2017.

During those few years a lot of gambling-friendly legislation was passed, but 2018 could be a bigger year still, continuing the upward trend. This is good news for gambling fans and activists as the United States appear close to reaching the level of gambling integration into everyday life that other continents like Europe have attained.

The report claims that:

“Since our last study in 2014, casino gaming has expanded into new markets, offered innovative new entertainment options and enhanced its position as a key contributor to local, state and federal economies. The $40.8 billion of tax revenues supported by the gaming [industry] represents an injection into public budgets that pays for a range of services including public safety, hospitals and schools. In fact, total tax revenues… generated by the gaming industry are enough to pay for the salaries of approximately 692,000 teachers,”

In the report, Sara Slane, senior vice president of public affairs at the AGA touted the significance of the strides made by the gambling industry on a national scale and the potential that new growth would bring to the economy.

“The industry’s tax revenue alone provides enough fun. Since our last study in 2014, casino gaming has expanded into new markets, offered innovative new entertainment options and enhanced its position as a key contributor to local, state and federal economies…The gaming industry supported more direct jobs than in other industries such as plastics manufacturing, or the motion picture and sound recording industry,” the AGA claimed.

According to the report, the industry accounted for $109 billion in direct spending including “$89.4 billion of spending at casinos, $13.3 billion of ancillary spending by patrons on casino trips, and $6.3 billion of purchases from gaming manufacturers.”

The total economic impact of expanded gambling on the U.S. was laid out by several key data points represented below:

• $261.4 billion of output (business sales)
• 1.8 million jobs with $74.0 billion of labor income (wages, salaries, tips, benefits and other labor income)
• $40.8 billion of federal, state and local taxes, including $10.7 billion of gaming taxes

The revenue consisted the takes from commercial casinos, Native American casinos, card rooms, gaming manufacturers as well as ancillary spending by casino patrons.

Not included were slots and video lottery terminals in bars and other non-casino locations including cruise ships, pari-mutuel gaming such as horse racing and finally lotteries and other charitable gaming endeavors.

With the advent of sports betting outside Las Vegas dawning upon the United States, these numbers are bound to increase and potentially maintain a steady growth in 2018 and beyond.

With the Supreme Court making the decision to outlaw PASPA, a 1992 federal ban on sports betting, in May of this year, the number of states expected to allow the practice appears to grow by the month.

Check out states where online casinos for real money is legal.