Each October, the global gaming industry convenes in Las Vegas at G2E to discover the best and brightest innovations in gaming, many of which are found in the newest slot machines unveiled on the expo floor.
These machines are a pillar of our industry, representing a combination of cutting-edge technology and one-of-a-kind entertainment that only gaming provides. Because they are highly regulated, tested and monitored, these popular machines ensure consumers have a fair chance of winning.
This stands in stark contrast to operators of “skill-based games” or gray market machines, which continue to spread across the country, popping up in illegal slot parlors, convenience stores, bars and many other locations. Unlike regulated gaming machines, these devices flout the law, undergoing no testing and taking advantage of consumers who think they have a fair chance to win—when the game is really rigged before they even sit down to play.
They also don’t generate any tax revenue for states and communities. Last year, the legal commercial gaming industry generated $11.6 billion in direct gaming revenue taxes, helping support critical public initiatives such as education, infrastructure and more. Illegal gambling machines, on the other hand, contributed zero dollars while preying on vulnerable consumers.
The legal gambling industry invests hundreds of millions of dollars in responsible gaming resources, which you won’t find with illegal gambling machines, which even lack basic supervision by trained professionals if they are supervised at all.
It’s why the American Gaming Association (AGA) is doubling down on our efforts to eliminate these devices. Recently, AGA President and CEO Bill Miller sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland urging the department to investigate and prosecute these manufacturers who routinely violate the Johnson Act. This is a first step in the AGA’s renewed and scaled effort to spur action to shut down illegal gambling.
On a state level, policymakers are increasingly recognizing the need to address this issue. Virginia recently enacted legislation that will penalize operators and manufacturers of illegal machines with civil fines, while Kentucky legislators nearly guided a ban on skill machines across the finish line and hope to renew efforts when the legislature reconvenes next year. The AGA will continue to actively support this legislation and any similar efforts across the country.
Still, there is work to be done: legislators must close legal loopholes; law enforcement must prioritize action on this issue; the legal gaming industry must continue to spotlight the dangers of illegal gambling. A framework to accomplish this is laid out in AGA’s white paper, Skilled at Deception: How Unregulated Gaming Machines Endanger Consumers and Dilute Investments in Local Economies.
Manufacturers of illegal machines are not welcome as exhibitors or attendees at G2E. Our show exists to provide industry leaders a marketplace for the latest gaming innovations, not for nefarious actors to steal their next idea.
The AGA is committed to working together with likeminded associations, policymakers, law enforcement, regulators and industry leaders to curb the spread of these machines—a win for the legal gaming industry, consumers and communities across the country.