Just in time for the upcoming football season and September’s Responsible Gaming Education Month comes a new study from the American Gaming Association (AGA) showing that American attitudes toward casual gambling have shifted. Consumers now show favorable ratings toward sports entertainment mixed with wagering as a positive way to pass the time.
contributes to communities, prioritizes responsibility, and provides unmatched entertainment”
Joe Maloney, AGA Senior Vice President, Strategic Communications, said: “These latest survey results highlight a consistent trend over the years: as gaming expands to new audiences, Americans increasingly see the benefits of a legal, regulated gaming marketplace that contributes to communities, prioritizes responsibility, and provides unmatched entertainment.”
As reported by ReadWrite, compared to last year’s study, the feedback shows that there has been a 10% increase in the American public’s perception of how problem gambling can be tackled. Overall, there has been growth in:
Familiarity with responsible gaming resources
Effectiveness of responsible gaming programs
Increased awareness of responsible gaming messages
Responsible marketing and advertising
In perhaps the most stunning increase in a favorable metric, the AGA’s study notes a jump from 55% to 65% of Americans now believing the gaming industry is committed to responsible gaming and resolving problem gambling. The report shows an even higher rating among those who engage with the industry directly, with 81% of physical casino players and 88% of sports bettors agreeing with this sentiment, up from 70% and 78%, respectively, last year.
Given that some states—indeed, countries across the world—are still coming to grips with the benefits that legalized gambling can bring, it’s surprising that the consumer sentiment rating now finds that 75% of Americans support legal sports betting in their home state. Some countries like Brazil and Thailand are pushing for legalized gambling, while American states like South Carolina and Nebraska continue to see active lobbying heavily in favor of legalizing gambling.
Atlantic City casino smoking will remain after a judge in New Jersey dismissed a lawsuit challenging the state’s permittance of tobacco use on the gaming floors.
A gambler plays a slot machine while smoking a cigarette at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City on Nov. 29, 2023. A New Jersey judge has ruled that casino smoking does not violate protections afforded to workers under the New Jersey Constitution. (Image: AP)
New Jersey’s 2006 Smoke-Free Air Act banned indoor tobacco use in most indoor places other than private residences. The law provided some exemptions, with licensed casinos in Atlantic City being allowed to designate up to 25% of their gaming areas for tobacco use.
The United Auto Workers, which represents table game dealers, workers who are most exposed to secondhand smoke, and CEASE — Casino Employees Against Smoking’s Effects — challenged the 2006 law on the grounds that casino workers’ rights to personal health safety protections under the New Jersey Constitution were being violated. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Patrick Bartels disagreed in dismissing the claim.
“Because of the publicly known risks of secondhand smoke, that smoking has never been banned in casinos except for a short period during COVID-19, that the Smoke-Free Air Act’s exceptions only affect a few industries, and that the Smoke-Free Air Act does not hinder or affect a person’s ability to seek work in a smoke-free environment, it cannot be said that the New Jersey Legislature’s actions in providing exceptions to the Smoke-Free Air Act restricts the casino workers’ right to pursue safety under the New Jersey Constitution,” Bartels wrote in his opinion published Friday.
Each of the nine casinos in Atlantic City takes advantage of its smoking allowance. Critics say smoke knows no boundaries and dangerous, toxic secondhand smoke permeates the casino areas.
Odds Favor Appeal
Attorney Nancy Erika Smith argued on behalf of CEASE and the UAW. She said an appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court is forthcoming.
While the rest of the nation moves away from poisoning workers for profits, New Jersey shames itself,” Smith said. “As long as the governor, the legislature, and the courts allow the extremely rich casino industry to poison its workers, we will continue our fight.”
CEASE cofounder Lamont White said the “fight is far from over.” White hopes the court ruling will bring more enthusiasm to Trenton for state lawmakers to support bipartisan legislation to amend the Smoke-Free Air Act to rescind the casino smoking exemption.
Legislation last year in each legislative chamber had more than enough cosponsor support to force the casinos to go smoke-free. But Democratic leadership reportedly stalled the measures because of the November 2023 election where all 120 seats were on the ballot.
However, after retaining their majority in both chambers, the smoking bills still didn’t progress. Some of the 2023 support was subsequently lost after the casino industry, as well as a union that represents casino workers in nongaming roles, said a smoking ban would cost thousands of jobs and possibly result in a casino closing.
Casinos Celebrate
For now, Bartels’ ruling is a win for the nine Atlantic City casinos. The retaining of smoking comes as Atlantic City’s casinos last week revealed that their operating profits slid nearly 2% in the second quarter despite increased revenue.
We are gratified by the court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiff’s complaint and deny its attempt to change the Smoke-Free Air Act outside of the legislative process,” said Mark Giannantonio, president of Resorts Casino and the Casino Association of New Jersey. “We look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders towards a solution that addresses the health concerns of our employees, while also protecting the collective interest and well-being of the entire Atlantic City workforce.”
Commercial casinos/racinos operate in 28 states. Seventeen allow indoor smoking.
Good decisions determine the long-term gambling career of each person, and a new study shows that the results may have more to do with our state of mind than previously thought.
The new study comes from Temple University faculty member Crystal Reeck, whose paper was recently accepted for publication in the journal Cognition and Emotion. The paper, titled “Reining in regret: emotion regulation modulates regret in decision making,” outlines how our memories can be reimagined to change our feelings of regret—and ultimately our gambling decisions in the here and now. The study was co-authored by Kevin LaBar, a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Duke University.
Regret is really a great example of an emotion that can have a profound influence on decision-making.”
Reeck, Associate Professor of Marketing and the Associate Director of the Center for Applied Research in Decision Making in Temple’s Fox School of Business, said: “Regret is really a great example of an emotion that can have a profound influence on decision-making. With regret, we often wish we had done something differently, and that then leads us to change our approach moving forward.”
Reeck went on to say that people become interested in regret due to its profound influence on people’s behavior. Her hypothesis on the consequences of unmanaged regret speaks to how people approach wins and losses in gambling, and whether those wins or losses lead to suboptimal decisions. She added: “So, if I’m worried about a very small risk of losing a lot of money, it might lead me to avoid what would otherwise be a really good investment because I’m worried about anticipating that regret.”
Study utilized results from real bets
The study relied on more than self-reports or meta-analysis. For the new study, Reeck and her colleague asked 60 participants to place real bets where they could win or lose money. The participants were then asked to utilize two specific emotional regulation strategies: the portfolio approach, or the immediate results approach.
Referring to the portfolio approach, Reeck said: “Essentially, you’re going to win some and you’re going to lose some when it comes to making decisions. Don’t worry about that, just try to come out ahead overall.”
With the other strategy, Reeck asked participants to focus on the immediate impact of each gamble as though it was all that mattered. Participants who used the immediate results strategy were far more likely to experience regret and inhibition for their next gambling decisions. The participants overemphasized the results rather than the overall portfolio of their wins and losses. In other words, participants who used the portfolio approach still appreciated the times they won, both recognizing their long-term results and whether they could have suffered far greater losses.
when you try to focus on the gains, it is easier to not be bogged down by past regrets”
According to Reeck, that’s the approach that people should use when looking at past regrets in life, too, saying: “When people look at their past decisions like that and instead focus on the good, they see that overall, they are coming out ahead. That’s true for a lot of us. We are all going to experience some losses. That’s inevitable. But when you try to focus on the gains, it is easier to not be bogged down by past regrets.”
A county judge in Missouri has put back a referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot that will ask voters statewide to expand gambling to the Osage River in Lake Ozark.
The Lake of the Ozarks’ notorious rowdy summer “Party Cove” could get a bit wilder should a casino be authorized near the Bagnell Dam. Missouri voters in November will determine if a resort casino is allowed in Lake Ozark. (Image: Google Maps)
Cole County Judge Daniel Green today ordered that Amendment 5 be returned to the 2024 Missouri ballot. The measure seeks to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to grant a gambling boat license to be used “on the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam.”
Earlier this month, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) said the group behind the Ozarks casino campaign was a little more than 2,000 signatures short to move the question to the ballot.
Osage River Gaming & Convention brought a lawsuit on allegations that it had collected enough voter support. Green was to preside over the trial when Ashcroft informed the court that his office had found another batch of canvassing documents that were validated to put the campaign across the threshold.
Ozarks Casino Back in Mix
Osage River Gaming & Convention has proposed building a casino resort on the southern side of the Bagnell Dam along U.S. 54/Bagnell Dam Blvd. The development’s tentative resort and casino management firm is Bally’s Corp.
Today is a victory for the initiative petition process and for voters who will benefit from our proposed development at the Lake of the Ozarks,” said Chuck Hatfield, an attorney representing Osage River Gaming & Convention.
Currently, riverboat gaming in the Show-Me State is limited to the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Amendment 5 would also override the state’s current limit of 13 casino licenses to 14.
The Osage Nation of Oklahoma will be expected to fund the Ozarks casino opposition campaign. The federally recognized tribe continues to fight for federal permission to build a tribal casino in the Lake of the Ozarks.
The tribe claims to have historical ties to the region but has not yet had its land taken into the federal trust. The Osage Nation acquired a former Quality Inn hotel at 3501 Bagnell Dam Blvd. in 2022.
Missouri has not entered into any Class III gaming compacts with federally recognized tribes, meaning the Osage’s casino, unless the state government changes course, would be limited to Class I and II gaming like electronic bingo machines.
Sports Betting Poll
The Ozarks casino question will be one of two gaming matters on the Missouri ballot come November.
The other will ask state voters to amend the Missouri Constitution to allow casinos and professional sports venues to operate retail sports betting. Along with in-person sportsbooks, Amendment 2 would authorize online sports betting.
New polling from Saint Louis University and YouGov finds waning support. Researchers reported that nearly 50% of the 900 likely Missouri voters surveyed said they’ll vote “yes” on Amendment 2. That’s down from 60% the same poll found in March.
The downturn in support increased the number of likely voters who said they weren’t sure.
For all of the ballot initiatives, there are a fair number of ‘not sure’ voters. Ballot language can be confusing to voters. However, as campaigns spread messages like ‘Vote Yes on 2’ or ‘No on 2,’ voters will form more concrete opinions,” said SLU/YouGov Poll Director Steven Rogers, Ph.D.
Only a simple majority is needed for either gaming referendum to amend the Missouri Constitution.
The Asian Racing Conference in Sapporo, Japan was the setting for the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC)’s Senior Manager, Due Diligence and Research James Porteous’s presentation on the “turbocharged” effect technology is having on drawing masses of users in Asian markets into illegal betting.
driving “novel” uses of social media platforms
Porteous, who is also Research Head for the Asian Racing Federation’s Council on Anti-Illegal Betting and Related Financial Crime, believes the material gains for those involved in the unregulated betting markets are driving “novel” uses of social media platforms.
The South China Morning Post on Thursday cited Porteous as naming platforms including Twitch, TikTok, and Instagram.
One entity allegedly benefitting from unregulated betting markets is illegal online exchange Citibet, which previous claims state makes a turnover of over $50bn annually. The origins and ownership of Citibet have long been in question, but it is licensed to operate out of the Philippines government’s special economic zone, First Cagayan.
As far back as 2015, meanwhile, sports betting expert and ex-federal agent with the Australian Federal Police and Interpol, Chris Eaton, warned of Philippines agent-based structures “designed to maintain the anonymity and secrecy of account holders” and that were “readymade for abuse by criminals and ideal for money laundering.”
“No one even knows who owns these operations and this is outlandish,” Eaton said in a statement that still holds true nearly ten years later.
easier than ever to trade as an illegal bookmaker
On top of that, adds Porteous, it’s now easier than ever to trade as an illegal bookmaker. The HKJC exec said illegal operators are furnishing would-be bookmakers with odds, training, risk management, “pirated live streaming and customer relationship management for as little as US$7,000.”
According to Porteous, Citibet now boasts its own network of agent-exclusive websites plus “literally thousands of other URLs via this franchising model.”
Porteous referred to the rise of the hydra-like franchising as the “McDonaldisation” of illegal betting.
Technology boost
The HKJC exec stated because the offshore operators have no regulatory overhead nor ethical qualms about using technology to market to consumers, the combination is reaching mass markets and has “turbocharged illegal betting.”
“Customer recruitment commissions for illegal betting agents are now so potentially lucrative that they are massively incentivised financially to exploit every technological platform in increasingly novel ways.”
“It’s bringing illegal betting to the mass market like never before,” Porteous added.
Flutter will appeal a decision to pay $330m in damages issued by a Georgian court this week.
The Court of First Instance ruled that Flutter’s Georgian subsidiary Adjarabet, and iGaming developer Spribe would have to pay the damages to Aviator LLC over trademark and copyright infringement related to the operator’s “Aviator” crash game.
Aviator LLC is a former shareholder in Adjarabet, and owns trademarks related to the Aviator brand for use in online and physical gambling services.
bears no resemblance to the actual economics of the property under debate”
In a statement, Flutter stated: “The level of damages sought is egregious in nature and bears no resemblance to the actual economics of the property under debate.”
Flutter stated that the Aviator game generated $7.5m in revenue in Georgia last year, far below the damages offered. The split of the fee to be paid by Flutter and Spribe has not been disclosed.
Aviator LLC’’s law firm Mikadze Gegetchkori Taktakishvili LLC said: “We are pleased with the outcome of the court’s ruling on this claim and we will continue to aggressively protect our client’s intellectual property from unlicensed use on any international gaming platforms.”
Delaware Lottery Director Helene Keeley has warned that its exclusive online gaming partner, Rush Street Interactive, could sue the state finance department-run body for breach of contract should Delaware pass an expanded iGaming bill.
end RSI brand BetRivers’ statewide monopoly
Delaware lawmakers are considering a bill to allow six sports betting operators to enter the mobile wagering market in a move that would end RSI brand BetRivers’ statewide monopoly of the vertical.
According to a media source, BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel expressed interest in Delaware market entry at a legislative hearing.
RSI and the lottery, however, inked a contract in August that made the former’s BetRivers app the only legally approved online gaming platform in Delaware. At the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States conference, Keeley questioned the fairness of giving the likes of FanDuel a slice of the market, while also ostensibly inviting a suit from RSI.
“If I were BetRivers and the state passed this, I would say I want to look at our contract because it’s not feasible for us to operate like this,” the source cites Keeley as stating.
Firmly-held beliefs
RSI’s contract with the lottery is for “iGaming with an option for sports,” Keeley stated. She added the Delaware Lottery wasn’t “100% sure” it would pursue mobile sports betting “until the vendors came in and presented.”
Now that mobile sports is back in the conversation, Keeley hasn’t forgotten the fact that the big-name sportsbooks circling again previously eschewed applying for the exclusive license awarded to RSI.
“They didn’t bid on it. How is that fair to let them in now?”
The lottery head used photocopier brands to question the fairness of allowing DraftKings, BetMGM, or FanDuel’s Lexmark to muscle in and make changes to a market held by RSI’s Canon, considering the big guns’ previous lack of follow through on the bid.
“To change the law to allow two copier companies to do business with the state rather than one, how is that fair?” Keely asked.
I don’t think we need other online sports betting options.”
The Delaware Lottery Director is big on citing the “constitutional responsibilities” behind her taking an aggressive stance against an expanded iGaming bill. Keeley stated that given Delaware’s small population of one million: “I don’t think we need other online sports betting options.”
The lottery exec also cited a fiscal report that estimated allowing multiple mobile sports betting operators in would lose the state lottery revenue of approximately $3m. Keeley said that the current iGaming model with RSI “fits into what our constitution says my responsibility is, which is to make the most money for the state as possible.”
Opportunities cited
Keeley is rallying against an expanded bill despite HB365 stalling in the Appropriations Committee this year, courtesy of the lottery’s opposition. She does, however expect the bill back before lawmakers in January.
Two Delaware lawmakers filed HB365 in 2024 and also co-chaired a task force that determined the state “should have an online sports lottery with multiple operators or skins.”
Reps. William Bush and Franklin Cooke’s task force feedback cited Eilers & Krejcik figures that Delaware could generate over $9m in annual tax revenue from a competitive mobile sports betting market.
The second probe into Star Entertainment’s suitability to hold a casino license in Sydney has concluded that the company remains unfit to regain full control. It halted trading of its shares after the news broke on Friday.
money laundering and links to organized crime
The inquiry in New South Wales (NSW) found that Star is “falling short” on its remedial efforts following the numerous scandals relating to serious issues like money laundering and links to organized crime. The first inquiry determined the Brisbane-based company to be unfit in August 2022 and appointed a special manager to oversee operations.
Another finding was the lack of enforcement of the three-hour mandatory break rule for gamblers and then staff falsifying records about these interactions. Star Entertainment was planning to deliver its 2024 fiscal year financial results on Friday before postponing following the report’s publication.
The next steps
The NSW Independent Casino Commission is now deciding on its next move as it breaks down the findings in the report. The regulator’s Chief Commissioner Philip Crawford believes the report’s findings underline the need for a second inquiry and that the casino company hasn’t moved quickly enough to resolve long-running problems.
Star Entertainment has changed its senior management in recent years to try to appease regulators, with Steve McCann taking over as CEO in June.
The Queensland government is also looking at Star’s suitability to run its Brisbane and Gold Coast casinos and was waiting to see the outcome of the NSW probe before proceeding any further with its own assessments.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A new “Vegas Myths Busted” publishes every Monday, with a bonus Flashback Friday edition. Today’s edition originally ran on March 24, 2023.
“Ugly carpets are the results of extensive market research,” claims a website called gamblingsites.org. “Tacky carpets with weird lines and curvy patterns actually keep players awake and focused on what they’re doing.”
The already heavily stained new carpeting at the Fremont Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas does its only actual job well. (Image: Scott Roeben/Vital Vegas)
The reason there are so many casino myths ripe for this series to bust, other than the general lack of casino website fact-checkers, is simple psychology. Every gambler knows that every casino game is designed to take more money from them, on average, than it gives them. So the brain likes to invent “methods” to outsmart this “trickery,” which it tends to extrapolate to every detail of the casino experience.
One of the first Vegas myths busted by this series was that casinos pump in extra oxygen.
Wait, we’re not even finished with all the casino carpet theories yet …
The carpet is intended to disorient you and make it harder to find the exits,” claims Reddit user LordPraetorian in the r/LasVegas subreddit.
“The busy designs on the carpet are to draw your eyes upward, and the relatively tame ceilings are to draw your eyes downward,” Redditor “oftcenter” disagrees. “These two tactics work in combination to keep your attention in front of you and focused on the gaming amenities.”
“These myths are all absurd,” says Scott Roeben of Casino.org’s very own Vital Vegas blog. “It has never occurred to any casino manager, operations person, or owner I’ve ever spoken with to make an ugly carpet so that people will stay awake, or be disoriented, or look up instead of down.”
The Dirt
The old carpeting at Four Queens, right, gets replaced with new carpeting in 2022. (Image: Scott Roeben/Vital Vegas)
Casino carpets are busy because busy designs hide stains and wear and tear, period. They’re cleaned frequently, often more than once a day. But it’s impossible to keep up. And because margins are important to public companies, some put off replacing carpets for as many years as possible.
“Casinos are different than most other businesses because thousands of customers constantly stream through them, every day, and almost all of them are carrying drinks,” Roeben says. “The spills are more frequent and often more colorful. Slushy drinks come in a variety of colors.
“Oh, and there’s also the vomit.”
Roeben knows casino carpets. Few people working in Las Vegas have helped wear down as many as he has. He’s also obsessed with them, discussing them with his casino executive friends and rushing to tweet photos from casino floors whenever he gets wind of an upgrade. His current favorite is the new carpeting at the Fremont Hotel & Casino downtown.
“I thought people wouldn’t care for it, because it’s all over the place with shapes and bright colors, but people love it,” Roeben says. “They’re renovating the entire casino floor with this wild pattern, section by section. People have a soft spot for over-the-top casino carpet designs.”
One Reddit user posted this photo under the heading: ‘Guess the Las Vegas carpet. Level: Medium.’ Give up? It’s the MGM Grand’s. (Image: Reddit)
Another (Actual) Purpose
There’s one more purpose served by casino carpets, according to Roeben. But this one has nothing to do with trickery, either.
“They also reinforce a casino’s brand,” Roeben says, “and it’s a distinctive element of that brand, which is why you won’t see carpeting duplicated between casinos.”
For instance, the Horseshoe carpet (in the rebranded Bally’s) contains literal horseshoes in its pattern.
“That’s the only one I can think of that’s so on the nose,” Roeben says. “In most cases, though, the pattern is just something distinctive to that one casino. It’s usually so distinctive that a lot of people can identify casinos just based on the carpet.”
Such brand recognition isn’t always in a casino’s self-interest. For instance, law enforcement will sometimes release a photo of a crime scene to the media but, as a courtesy to the casino, not identify where the crime occurred.
“They’ll show an isolated photo, maybe with the yellow tape across some carpeting,” Roeben says. “And people on social media will immediately recognize the casino and announce it.
“Carpet nerds are like the forensic scientists of carpeting.”
Look for “Vegas Myths Busted” every Monday on Casino.org. Click here to read previously busted Vegas myths. Got a suggestion for a Vegas myth that needs busting? Email corey@casino.org.
Statista reports that in the fiscal year of 2023, Nevada casinos generated $10.92b in gambing revenue, an increase of over $200m from the previous year. That’s a shy drop from the peak in 2018 of $11.6b.
decline was primarily driven by a significant drop in revenue from table games, which fell by 23.5%”
Comparing amounts from one month in 2023 to the same month in 2024 helps track the ongoing fluctuations in the gambling market for Nevada. Statewide gambling revenue for July 2024 amounted to $1.31b, a 6.9% decrease from last year’s number for the same month. Gambling Insider reports that the “decline was primarily driven by a significant drop in revenue from table games, which fell by 23.5%.”
Baccarat suffers steep drop
Table game winnings in July totaled $392.7m. Baccarat, a major contributor to table game revenue, saw a sharp 61.9% decline in win, totaling $73.6m. Worse, the win rate for baccarat dropped to 9.7%. Other table games, however, saw a sharp increase: blackjack and craps increased to 7.6% ($117m) and 7.2% ($43.2m), respectively.
slot machine revenue also increased by 2.6%, reaching $914.1m
In addition, slot machine revenue also increased by 2.6%, reaching $914.1m. Gambling Insider reports that “[m]ultidenominational slots, which represent a substantial portion of the market, saw a revenue increase of 22.7%, amounting to $630m.” The news, however, is not all good for slots. Other categories like penny slots and dollar slots experienced declines, with penny slot revenue decreasing 26.6%, and the number of penny slot machines in operation dropping by 16.7%.
Further, taxable revenue for Nevada amounted to just $95.9m in percentage fees, indicating a slight decrease of 0.2%.
Casinos may have allowed criminals to bolster business
The decline in statewide revenue owes a significant debt to the Las Vegas Strip, a significant driver of Nevada’s gaming industry. The Strip reported a 15% decline in revenue. Downtown Las Vegas, however, reported a 10% increase in gaming revenue, totaling $71.8m.
Casinos and resorts are eager to reverse the diminishing revenues, with a report from the Nevada Gaming Control Board alleging that Resorts World Last Vegas and its parent company, Genting Berhad, allowed individuals with ties to illegal activities to cross their doors. With the pressure on Nevada to hold its position as the premiere gambling destination for the world, the NGCB’s ongoing investigation will continue to deliver reports analyzing the ongoing economic uncertainty for Nevada’s gambling economy.
