Our partners at This Week in Gambling conducted an interview about black market slots and online casinos in America. We speak with the Senior Vice President of Government Relations at the American Gaming Association, Chris Cylke, about how these illegal websites are taking billion of tax dollars out of the country each year.
Black market slots and online gambling sites have not slowed down, even with regulated internet betting in this country. This is according to a new report from the AGA, which found that players in the United States still wagering up to half a trillion dollars each year, profiting offshore websites, as well as unregulated gaming machines and even local bookies.
That report showed that this sort of activity robs state governments of over $13 billion in tax revenue every year. It’s estimated that it also costs regulated gaming over $44 billion in annual revenue. With online gambling only legal in six states, nearly half of all Americans that have played black market slots or table games in the past year have played with those gambling operators.
“Black Market gambling is a scourge on our society, taking advantage of vulnerable consumers, skirting regulatory obligations and robbing communities of critical tax revenue for infrastructure, education and more,” said American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller. “We have always known that the illegal and unregulated market is expansive, but this report illuminates just how pervasive it is.”
