America’s newest anti-gambling organization, the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG), differs significantly from almost every other anti-gambling group on the planet. That’s because the NAAiG is a coalition made up primarily of land-based gaming operators who are warning against the dangers of their biggest rival, online gambling.
The unusual lobbying group includes executives from name brand land-based casino operators including The Cordish Companies, Monarch Casino & Resort and Churchill Downs Incorporated.
NAAiG members are touting a new study from The Innovation Group titled, Economic Impacts of iGaming Expansion, that aims to debunk the idea that gaming expansion offers revenue benefits for states. Inside the study are an array of eye-popping stats about the damage gaming expansions do to state economies, including the assertion that gaming expansion has caused job cuts in the thousands. More importantly, to its sponsors, the study suggests that land-based casino revenue drops by 16 percent in states that offer online gambling.
On the social side of the issue, the NAAiG points out that igaming losses in the US will exceed $1 trillion by 2028. The study pointedly doesn’t make much of a fuss about losses incurred at land-based casinos.
Mark Stewart, EVP & General Counsel of The Cordish Companies and NAAiG board member, hyped the study’s findings in a press release saying, “These statistics underscore the urgent need for action. iGaming’s unchecked access to gambling on cell phones is bad public policy that threatens local jobs and businesses and will cost states. When increased social costs caused by iGaming higher rates of underage and problem gambling are considered, the net tax revenue results are uniformly negative for every state.”
It’s hard to estimate how seriously lawmakers will take the NAAiG’s claims, given the obvious bias of land-base operators against their online rivals. It’s the ultimate case of “the call is coming from inside the house.”