As 2022 comes to a close, I want to take a moment to reflect on and celebrate all we’ve accomplished together for our industry this year. 2022 will be one of our industry’s strongest years ever with combined commercial and tribal revenue on pace to surpass $100 billion and—despite economic headwinds—mark a new annual record.
Throughout the year, the AGA has been making strides to build on the industry’s success, including:
Painting a target on the illegal market. We reinvigorated this effort by calling on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice to boost enforcement against illegal operators, which the Congressional Gaming Caucus then reinforced. We published research estimating the scale of illegal gambling in the U.S., launched StopIllegalGambling.org, and engaged companies like Google to shine the spotlight on the illegal market and push for action.
Increasing visibility of gaming’s responsible leadership. The AGA released the industry’s first-ever ESG report, extended Responsible Gaming Education Week into a full month, added new partners to Have A Game Plan.® Bet Responsibly.™, updated and released industry best practices on AML, issued our first-ever report on combatting human trafficking, and began work to set an industry benchmark for workforce diversity.
Shaping the public discussion through original research. We released more than a dozen pieces of research and reported regularly on commercial gaming revenue and gaming CEOs’ industry outlook to bolster the industry’s reputation and inform key stakeholders.
Advancing favorable policies. At the federal level, we held more than 140 meetings with policymakers and staff to build support for repealing the sports betting federal excise tax, drove progress on the slot tax threshold, and defended against resort fee regulation. The AGA deepened our engagement at the state level by convening regulators and working with state leaders on key industry priorities.
Hosting an energetic and inspiring G2E and G2E Asia. We welcomed nearly 25,000 gaming professionals, 350 exhibitors and several of gaming’s top CEOs to a successful G2E in Las Vegas, and convened G2E Asia for a special edition in Singapore.
As we look ahead to 2023, we will continue to tell gaming’s good story and advance industry and association priorities. I’m confident that, together, we’ll make 2023 another great year for gaming.
Thank you for everything you’ve done to make 2022 such a success and for your continued partnership.
Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season.
All the best,
Bill
