AGA releases first-ever state-by-state analysis of tribal gaming’s economic impact

Groundbreaking study released at Get to Know Gaming event with Tribal gaming members, local small businesses and Congressmen Tom Cole and Markwayne Mullin

The casino gaming industry supports 635,000 tribal gaming jobs and has an economic impact of nearly $97 billion, the American Gaming Association (AGA) announced today during a roundtable discussion with gaming leaders in Oklahoma City.

Tuesday’s event, part of AGA’s Get to Know Gaming (G2KG) campaign, aims to educate communities about gaming’s role as a community partner in 40 states across the country.

“Casino gaming is a strong community partner throughout Oklahoma and across the 40 states where our industry operates,” said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the AGA. “As tribal and commercial operators continue to work together, our industry will continue to grow in the years to come.”

The report, The Economic Impact of Tribal Gaming: A First-Ever State-by-State Analysis, found that Tribal gaming generates over $33 billion in employee wages and generates $16 billion in taxes and direct payments to federal, state and local governments.

“Since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in 1988, tribal gaming has grown 300-fold from a $121 million segment of the U.S. gaming industry, consisting of small bingo halls and gaming facilities, to a $30 billion plus segment in 28 states,” the report states.

Tuesday’s roundtable included Congressman Tom Cole (OK-4); Congressman Markwayne Mullin (OK-2); Matthew Morgan, Chickasaw Nation; Sheila Morago, Executive Director, Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association; Russell Evans, Executive Director, Stevens C. Agee Economic Research and Policy Institute (ERPI); and Mark Fulton, Chief Operating Officer, Cherokee Nation Entertainment.

The event follows recent research from Oxford Economics that shows a legal, regulated sports betting market could bring as much as $606 million in economic output to Oklahoma’s economy, support up to 4,076 jobs and generate up to $124 million in tax revenue. This research comes just as the Supreme Court has decided to hear the challenge to the federal sports betting ban later this year.

Earlier this year, AGA released a report, The Gaming Industry’s Impact on Small Business Development in the United States, that examined nearly a dozen U.S. gaming markets and assessed casino gaming’s direct and indirect impact on local, small businesses. Researchers from Spectrum Gaming Group concluded that gaming’s widespread impact is felt in markets across the country, but has larger impacts in small to mid-sized communities where local businesses work to integrate into gaming operations.

Nationwide, the small business report concluded that the casino gaming industry generates $52 billion in annual revenues for American small businesses and supports $13 billion in small business employee wages. In addition, $52 billion in annual small business revenues go toward real estate, finance, health care, STEM, manufacturing, information technology and other industries.

About AGA: 

The American Gaming Association is the premier national trade group representing the $240 billion U.S. casino industry, which supports 1.7 million jobs in 40 states. AGA members include commercial and tribal casino operators, suppliers and other entities affiliated with the gaming industry. It is the mission of the AGA to be the single most effective champion of the industry, relentlessly protecting against harmful and often misinformed public policies, and paving a path for growth, innovation and reinvestment.