The American Gaming Association, the foremost lobbying group on behalf of casinos and gaming operators, began ramping up its PR effort to repeal PASPA (the 1992 federal law that banned sports betting) well before the presidential election.
But now the organization says that a “perfect storm” is brewing in its favor.
“We have a perfect storm coming together,” says AGA president Geoff Freeman. “You have leagues, you have broadcasters, you have law enforcement, you have the casino industry—everyone is acknowledging that we are better off having a regulated environment.”
And there is renewed optimism thanks to Donald Trump, a former casino owner turned POTUS.
Casino and gambling supporters are optimistic that Trump could smile on their efforts, not just due to his casino past, but because his casino past was not a controversial issue during the campaign. That, coupled with Las Vegas getting a pro hockey team, are encouraging to Freeman and the AGA.
“Look at what happened in 2016, it was a remarkable year,” Freeman says. “You had an NHL team awarded to Las Vegas, you have an NFL team that’s ready to move to Las Vegas if they can find a stadium to play out of, you had a presidential debate in Las Vegas, and now you have a president of the United States who used to be a casino owner, and during the course of the campaign, the issue of casinos, and gambling, never came up.”
If all that isn’t enough, Freeman sees the current Republican majority in Congress as an additional positive indicator: “We have a Republican House, Republican Senate, Republican president. Generally those folks believe in states’ rights, and empowering states to legislate as they see fit. If you believe in that, then you’re inclined to think PASPA is a failed law.”
On the other hand, according to a new Seton Hall Sports Poll from the Sharkey Institute at Seton Hall University, 43% of Americans surveyed think legalizing and regulating sports betting is a bad idea; 46% said they support it.
Freeman tells Yahoo Finance that 80% of Americans “see casino gambling as something that is an acceptable activity,” but that does not jibe so smoothly with almost half of those surveyed not supporting legalized betting. (And he was referencing No. 12 of this national survey by the Mellman Group, in which 57% of those surveyed said they believed casino gambling is acceptable for themselves and others, 30% said it’s acceptable for others, but not themselves.)
According to the survey, 13% of people who say they have never placed a bet say they would place a bet if it were legal. You might expect that figure to be higher, but Rick Gentile, director of the Seton Hall poll, chalks it up to the fact that only a sliver of people like to “admit to” their interest in gambling.