As the 2025 legislative season fully unfolds, many state capitals in the United States are considering online gambling. Whether authorizing iGaming to provide interactive slot machines and table games is in the best interest of the state largely depends on who you ask.
Several of America's largest gaming operators, including MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Penn National Gaming, and Boyd Gaming, have expressed strong support for iGaming. Light & Wonder, one of the world's largest manufacturers of physical gaming products like slot machines and gambling tables, is also optimistic about iGaming and has made significant investments in its digital division.
However, other major players oppose online gambling, claiming that it leads to a reduction in profits for live and physical gaming, which in turn affects food, entertainment, and hotel sales. Some companies opposing online gambling also worry about gambling problems and the lack of consumer protection measures to encourage responsible participation.
Competitors include Las Vegas Sands Corp., the world's largest gaming company by market value. Wynn Resorts is also less enthusiastic about iGaming compared to its main competitors.
Regional casino operators, such as Maryland's Cordish Companies and Kentucky's Churchill Downs Incorporated, have been lobbying extensively against iGaming in various state capitals. At the end of last year, the owners of Live! and TwinSpires joined forces to establish the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG). Monarch Casino Resort & Spa in Black Hawk, Colorado, is also one of the founding partners of NAAiG.
Does online gambling lead to unemployment?
A new study commissioned by NAAiG from the New Orleans-based gaming consultancy Innovation Group claims to debunk the common misconception that iGaming supporters present to state legislators when urging them to authorize remote casino gambling.
The conclusion drawn by Innovation researchers is that after the introduction of iGaming, the total revenue from live gaming at physical casinos (GGR) suffers an average loss of 16%, leading to "massive unemployment, hundreds of millions of dollars in economic output losses, and reduced tax revenues used to fund public services."
If Illinois and New York legalize iGaming, the Innovation Group predicts that nearly 10,000 jobs will be lost by 2029. If Ohio welcomes online casinos, more than 2,800 jobs at physical casinos will be lost, while Louisiana will lose over 2,600 jobs, and Mississippi will lose about 1,900 jobs. Each of these states has introduced an iGaming bill.
"Allowing people to gamble unrestrictedly through their phones is a poor public policy that threatens local jobs and businesses and will cost the states dearly. If the increased social costs, such as rising rates of underage and gambling addiction, are considered, then the net tax revenue outcome for each state is negative," added Mark Stewart, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Cordish Companies.
iGaming supporters claim it has a complementary role
Despite opposing iGaming, Cordish operates an online casino in Pennsylvania, one of only seven states that allow internet slot machines and table games. Cordish stated that after Pennsylvania legislators expanded gambling to the internet in 2017, the company was forced to act. Churchill also operates a casino in Pennsylvania—Presque Isle Downs & Casino—but chose to sell its iGaming privileges to bet365.
In a recent conversation with Casino.org, one of the top government affairs experts working with L&W, Howard Glaser, estimated that most high school and college-aged kids are already gambling online through unregulated offshore casino sites and/or controversial "sweepstakes" casino platforms operating in gray areas.
"It's the same issue for us," said Glaser. "We are primarily a physical company, and our numbers will tell you that, but as a publicly traded company, we are accountable to shareholders and investors. We pursue growth. Our conclusion is that [iGaming] has been happening illegally, and in markets where iGaming is legal, it complements [physical gaming]. They can promote each other and foster growth."
Glaser stated that Light & Wonder must face the same issues regarding iGaming and question and analyze its pros and cons. He explained that the conclusion drawn by the Las Vegas gaming giant is that online gambling is a net positive.
