Gambling industry in US invests $472m annually in RG

Responsible gambling has become a core tenet of the gambling industry’s message to consumers, lawmakers, and the wider public.

Although the exact terms of what constitutes a responsible gambling business model has come under fierce debate, with public advocates for consumer protection often thinking of the measures enacted as "a bit too little, a bit too late," there has been growing empirical evidence that the gambling industry is taking responsible gambling and investing in this particular faucet of the gambling experience more determinedly.

Gambling industry spending on RG reaches all-time high in 2023

According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), the industry is investing $471.8m annually, based on figures from 2023, up 72% from the $275m invested in 2017. AGA has commissioned a study from an established international accounting firm to take a closer look at how this investment is spent and where it goes in the first place. AGA’s study found out that RG investment was spent as follows:

According to AGA SVP, Strategic Communications Joe Maloney, RG spending has shown that the legal gambling industry is constantly looking to make the environment for consumers safer and sustainable.

AGA is particular about the role of legal gambling in maintaining a healthy ecosystem in which players are treated fairly and protected from gambling harm, something that the trade group has passionately argued was not the case with offshore operators.

"Beyond the considerable taxes gaming companies contribute to fund responsible gaming and problem gambling resources, the industry also proactively invests hundreds of millions of dollars more to ensure our customers have the tools, knowledge and safeguards to play responsibly," Maloney said.

A multi-pronged approach to making gambling safer for all consumers

AGA has highlighted initiatives such as Responsible Gaming Education Month (RGEM), an initiative designed to showcase the industry’s commitment to the player and help raise awareness for best practices and gambling-related harm.

AGA has also highlighted the introduction of the Responsible Gaming Intervention Effectiveness Scale, another seminal achievement developed by Drs. Jonathan Ross Gilberand Marla Stafford, and designed to leverage academic research and data from the field to establish the best practices for preventing gambling-related harm.

In the meantime, more research-based effort has been directed to help understand responsible gambling and whether the standards set out by individual states actually "cut it." The research, conducted by Vixio and the National Council on Problem Gambling, takes a deep look at each individual state and the RG standards that they run against a plethora of criteria.

Image credit: Unsplash.com