Most people don’t see gambling as the negative that it was once perceived to be. That’s according to the American Gaming Association’s (AGA) 2024 edition of its American Attitudes Towards Gaming survey,

This is a yearly study the AGA conducts to gauge public perceptions of gambling in the United States. Among the notable results are a growing awareness of responsible gambling messaging and a sense that the gaming industry is more cautious with its marketing efforts.

AGA Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications Joe Maloney told PlayUSA:

These survey results show that gaming’s commitments to responsibility and contributions to communities are increasingly resonating with Americans as consumers become more familiar with our industry—a trend that should resonate with policymakers as well.

The survey fielded responses from 2,000 people. Respondents ranged in age from 21 years old to 60 and beyond. Additionally, 41% of respondents lived in the South, a key point related to the future of gambling expansion.

Key takeaways

• The 2024 results of the AGA’s yearly study on the public perception of gaming indicate a growing acceptance of gaming.
• 122 million adults have visited a casino in the past 12 months, up around 20% compared to the same time frame last year.
• Participation in online casinos and other forms of gambling rose six percentage points.

Perception of gambling industry’s responsible marketing improves

As Maloney pointed out, it seems as though the gambling industry’s efforts to market its products responsibly are paying off.

According to the AGA’s survey, 73% of people said the gaming industry is responsible in its marketing, up from 68% the year before. The percentage of people who encountered responsible gaming messaging, however, stayed the same: 66%.

Gambling participation continues to increase

More adults are gambling than ever before, according to the AGA’s survey. Over the past year, 122 million adults visited a casino over the past year, up from 102 million the previous year.

Furthermore, 49% of respondents said they’d visited a casino in the past year, up from 41% in the 2023 survey.

Another key area of growth was participation in gambling beyond land-based casinos.

According to the study, 55% of respondents said they gambled at online land-based casinos, and online and in-person sportsbooks along with lotteries, horse racing, and video lottery terminals. That figure was up from 49% the year before.

Along with more participation in gambling is a growing sense that casino gaming, in general, is more acceptable than it used to be. Fifty-nine percent of survey participants said that casino gambling was acceptable for themselves and for others, up from 56% the year before.

Regional participation could hold key for gambling’s future in the South

The AGA study fielded responses from participants across the country. However, the largest group of respondents were from the South:

• South: 41%
• West: 21%
• Midwest: 20%
• Northeast: 18%

While PlayUSA did not obtain results based on region, the survey’s heavy bent toward the South is interesting. The South has been quite unfriendly toward online casinos — no state east of Texas and south of West Virginia has legal online casinos.

Online sports betting is spotty in the region, too. It’s illegal in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina, and Florida only has one sports betting operator.

The South’s hesitation in adopting online betting costs its gambling operators and state programs revenue. Using per-capita data from six of the seven states that have released July online casino revenue figures, PlayUSA estimates the following states in the South could’ve generated more than $1.2 billion in iGaming revenue in July.

If Florida legalized online casinos, it would become the biggest online casino market in the country. If Georgia and North Carolina did the same, they would likely be the fourth- and fifth-biggest markets.

These numbers, along with the fact that the South-heavy AGA survey reflects a widespread public acceptance of gambling, should be enough to convince lawmakers to legalize online casinos.

However, that hasn’t happened. The South has been inhospitable for iGaming, due, in part, to its more conservative bent.

How can gaming leaders and regulators use public sentiment to legalize online casinos in the South and beyond? Maloney said part of it is leveraging the growing awareness of responsible gaming messaging.

“Building on this momentum will require continued investment in providing our customers with the tools and education to keep gaming safe and fun,” he said. “Collaboration is key to this work, and we’re excited to see new partnerships…that will advance industry RG efforts.”

A push for better responsible gaming branding could be the key to unlocking the South’s moral misgivings over online casinos.

By JR Duren