AGA Kicks Off Responsible Gaming Education Month, Celebrating 25th Anniversary of Industry’s Commitment

Responsible gaming awareness remains high as legal industry expands

The American Gaming Association (AGA) commenced Responsible Gaming Education Month (RGEM) 2023 today with new consumer survey data showing the strength of responsible gaming awareness.

As legal gaming expands, consumers continue to report high levels of responsible gaming engagement with 84 percent of past-year gamblers aware of at least one responsible gaming resource, including 91 percent of sports bettors.

Past-year gamblers also report high confidence in the effectiveness of responsible gaming tools, policies and initiatives. Three-quarters or more of players consider the following measures effective ways to encourage responsible play:

• Deposit limits (85%)
• Time limits (78%)
• Wager limits (77%)
• Employee training (77%)
• Industry code of conduct (75%)

“Our industry’s success is based on earning customer trust, providing safeguards for responsible gaming and implementing tools that our customers engage to bet responsibly,” the Responsibility Vice-President for the AGA, Cait DeBaun, said. “Today’s data shows our united effort to elevate responsible gaming is clearly resonating with players and shaping a safer gaming landscape.”

Importantly, as legal sports betting grows in new and existing markets, the survey underscores the value of advertising in driving responsible gaming awareness. More than half (53%) of sports bettors report seeing an increase in responsible gaming messaging over the past year.

Marking the industry’s 25th annual celebration of responsible gaming in September, RGEM 2023 will feature four weekly themes that the industry will activate on:

• Empowering customers to play responsibly | September 1 to 10
• Legal, regulated gaming protects players | September 11 to 17
• Building a responsible gaming culture within | September 18 to 24
• Advancing responsible gaming with research | September 25 to 30

“This month provides a focused opportunity for the gaming community to come together to highlight and advance our efforts,” said DeBaun. “We look forward to joining with our members, regulators, leagues, media and all stakeholders to uphold our collective responsibility for responsibility.”

Find full RGEM details and resources to participate including a toolkit for turnkey activation here.

Background

• Beyond regulatory commitments, AGA members agree to abide by the Responsible Gaming Code of Conduct and Responsible Marketing Code for Sports Wagering; voluntary commitments that set a high standard to protect players.
• AGA’s Have a Game Plan, Bet Responsibly campaign will also feature prominently during RGEM 2023, bringing together leagues, teams, operators and other sports betting stakeholders to educate consumers on responsible wagering.
• 34 states and the District of Columbia feature operational commercial gaming markets including casino gaming (27), sports betting (30) and iGaming (7).

Methodology

YouGov, on behalf of the AGA, conducted an online survey from August 3 to 10, 2023, among a nationally representative sample of 2,018 Americans aged 21 and over. The margin of error is +/- 2 percent and greater among subgroups.