The American Gaming Association released its 2024 numbers for commercial casinos on Wednesday. The top-line numbers:
US commercial gaming revenue set a record for the fourth straight year, just shy of $72 billion.
Online gambling is accounting for almost a third of all revenue.
More on the data here. And listen to the podcast for my thoughts.
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Gambling news roundup
Analysts Raise DraftKings Stock Target Following Solid Q4 Report (Legal Sports Report): “DraftKings stock opened the week at $54.15, up 16% from when it reported earnings last Thursday and a 176-week high as it reported a revenue beat and reaffirmed guidance for 2025. DKNG gave some of that growth back, though, as the stock closed Monday at $51.49. Both Macquarie and Truist analysts were most optimistic about DKNG’s prospects, increasing their price targets to $60, citing higher margins, lower promos and continued market leadership. Other banks, meanwhile, were less optimistic but still encouraged by the results.”
Bill to kill federal sports betting handle tax introduced again (Congresswoman Dina Titus): “For the fourth time since the proliferation of sports wagering, Democratic Representative Dina Titus of Nevada and Republican Guy Reschenthaler of Pennsylvania, co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Gaming Caucus, introduced legislation Tuesday to repeal the 0.25% excise tax placed on all legal sports bets.”
“The Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act of 2025 repeals a tax that does nothing except penalize legal gaming operators for creating thousands of jobs in Nevada and 37 other states around the nation,” Titus said. “Illegal sportsbooks do not pay the .25% sports handle tax and the accompanying $50-per-head tax on sportsbook employees, giving them an unfair advantage.”
While the bill has bipartisan support from its two sponsors, this bill hasn’t made any headway in the past; we’ll see if it gets any takeup this time around.
The excise tax is extremely dumb, and it’s a hindrance to legal and regulated sportsbooks; the tax money isn’t fulfilling any useful purpose for the US government as things stand. It would be great if it went away. I also think it would be great if the GRIT Act, which would use half the money from the excise tax for gambling addiction research and treatment, were to pass. EVEN BETTER: Halve the excise tax, put all of the money toward gambling addiction programs and research. PROBLEM SOLVED, EVERYONE’S HAPPY, RIGHT? Unfortunately, nothing works like that.
Austin store that sold $83.5M winning lottery ticket under investigation by Dan Patrick (Fox 7 Austin): Most of the report comes from a tweet by the Texas Lieutenant Governor, with a video on the tweet. “Recently, there have been many questions raised about the integrity of the Texas Lottery. Last night, an $83 million winning ticket was sold in Austin. Turns out, the retail establishment that sold the winning ticket in the front of the store was owned by the courier service that purchased the ticket behind the wall in the back of the store. I decided to go out and investigate for myself.”
The winning ticket was purchased via DraftKings-owned Jackpocket.
This could be good news-bad news for the lottery courier industry. If this results in Texas finding everything is fine, that would be a great outcome. If not, or if Patrick gets the legislature to act against lottery couriers, it would be a blow to the category; Texas is the largest of a limited cohort of states that couriers serve. And the possibility of other states following Texas’ lead also exists.
Responsible Online Gaming Association Launches National College Education Campaign (press release): The Responsible Online Gaming Association (ROGA) is excited to launch our Know Your Play campaign in partnership with EPIC Global Solutions, Kindbridge Behavioral Health, and the Responsible Gambling Council. This is a major initiative designed to provide college-aged students with detailed content focused on responsible gaming, mental health and well-being, and financial literacy.
“College students are learning to navigate newfound financial independence and equipping this age group with resources to make informed decisions that can build good financial habits will serve them throughout their lives, whether they engage in gaming or not,” said ROGA Executive Director Dr. Jennifer Shatley. “While previous programs have focused on student-athletes, our campaign intends to educate the broader student population about responsible gaming concepts that can help this age group set realistic expectations and see gaming as a form of entertainment, not as a way of making money.”
You can see more about the program at knowyourplay.org.
There is a lot of gambling — both regulated and unregulated — going on at college campuses, so it’s good to see a broad brush to go beyond student-athletes here.
Clip Of Drone Intruding Drake’s Penthouse Turns Out To Be Ad For Stake (Vibe).
Gambling newsletter roundup
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