Gaming contributes 0 billion to U.S. economy
A report released by the American Gaming Association at last week’s Global Gaming Expo shows that the gaming industry paid out $38 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2013.
The AGA’s annual report includes data on tribal casinos for the first time, as well as slot manufacturers and online gaming companies, to gauge the industry’s annual impact on the U.S. economy.
?Released as part of AGA’s “Get to Know Gaming” campaign, Oxford Economics found that the U.S. gaming industry:
• contributes $240 billion—nearly a quarter-trillion—to the U.S. economy, which is equivalent to the total state budgets of New York and Texas combined;?
• supports more than 1.7 million jobs—more than double Washington, D.C.’s total employment—and nearly $74 billion in income;? and,
• generates $38 billion in tax revenues to local, state and federal governments—enough to pay more than half-a-million teachers’ salaries.
For the first time, an AGA study included tribal gaming. Previous studies were limited to commercial casinos and vendors to the gaming industry.
“Oxford conducted an in-depth analysis on the economic impact, tax revenues and employment figures of commercial casinos, Native American casinos and gaming equipment manufacturers as well as the industry’s significant ripple effect, which supports local businesses and communities,” said AGA Vice President of Public Affairs Sara Ramey.
“These impressive figures, in combination with results of a poll conducted earlier this year—which showed voters across the political spectrum view casino gaming more favorably than ever before, and that recognize that casino gaming creates jobs, strengthens local businesses and benefits communities—strengthens our call to policymakers.
“Our message is that in order for the gaming industry to continue serving as an economic engine, policymakers must work with industry leaders to craft policies that help maximize gaming’s ability to innovate, reinvest and contribute to local communities.
“Our industry’s nearly quarter-trillion dollar contributions should no longer be underestimated. The AGA will work to unify the voice of the 1.7 million Americans whose jobs depend on gaming to urge policymakers to work with gaming leaders as better partners for creating policies that allow our industry to thrive.”
Despite the highly publicized problems in Atlantic City, the industry has continued to prosper, says Adam Sachs of Oxford Economics.
“It’s not that there’s lower demand for casino gaming, it’s that there’s more competition,” he says.
The complete report is available at the AGA’s website, americangaming.org.
