Record Number of Americans Support Casinos
New research has revealed that a record number of Americans support casinos and the gambling industry in general. The American Gaming Association (AGA) revealed that 49% of Americans were now in favour of casinos, a climb of 4 percentage points in just one year.
The rise in popularity comes with the relaxing of laws around betting in the USA and a subsequent increase in the number of visitors to casinos.
Complex gambling laws in the US
The popularity of casinos has historically not been helped in the US by laws which are prohibitive and restricted gambling. Compared to many other nations around the world, the US had strict anti-gambling laws which prevented online gambling, for example.
Each of the states are now free to make their own laws on gambling and betting and as a result, many have chosen to relax them providing new opportunities for locals. Utah and Hawaii remain the only states in the US which don’t allow any kind of live gambling thus far.
The casinos and betting facilities available vary significantly in states around the US but increasingly gambling is becoming more widely available which in turn is boosting the public perception of casino establishments.
Research from the AGA
The AGA carried out research into the public’s views of casinos and found there has been a significant swing towards acceptance. 49% of survey participants felt that casinos were a positive thing, which coincided with a rise in the number of people who had visited one in 2019 to 44%.
This represents a hike of 9% in just a single year, and it’s trend that is set to continue. 49% of Americans asked admitted they planned to visit a casino in the upcoming year, a climb of 8%, up from 41% of those in 2018.
There was even more good news in the survey as 63% agreed that casinos were an innovative form of entertainment and 67% said the industry overall offered high-quality entertainment options.
The CEO of the AGA, Bill Miller, was quick to point out the move towards wider acceptance in the US, drawing attention to the greater number of Americans who were now engaging with casinos in the different states. Miller said that as casinos and the gambling industry expands, individuals were able to appreciate the positive effect that revenue from the industry was able to have on the local economy.
