Full Of Sound And Fury
Connecticut's first "Impacts of Legalized Gambling" report comes in at a hefty 205 pages, but what does it tell us about the impact of legalized gambling? Not too much.
The Bulletin Board
VIEWS: Connecticut’s first annual gambling report is 200+ pages of charts and data, but there’s not a lot of meat on the bone.
BEYOND the HEADLINE: CT report adds fuel to the GRIT Act fire.
LEGISLATIVE ROUNDUP: Minnesota sports betting outlook; Missouri bill makes progress; Wyoming online casino bill shelved.
NEWS: Sports betting tax revenue is significant enough to be included in the US Census Bureau’s quarterly tax reports.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: Wyoming 2025?
STRAY THOUGHTS: I know it when I hear it.
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CT Gambling Report Is Interesting, Not Game-Changing
Connecticut recently released its first annual Impacts of Legalized Gambling report, and despite its heft, at 205 pages, the report doesn’t contain any bombshells.
State Sen. Cathy Osten, a supporter of the expansion of gambling in Connecticut, was cited by The CT Mirror as having “reviewed the 205-page study and discovered no revelations in it.”
I agree with that assessment, but a few findings are worth mentioning.
The most interesting data point for me was the type of gambling people engage in and how few bet on sports (10.2%) or gamble online (10.7%). Also of interest is the relatively small increase in sports bettors from 2008 to 2023. It would appear that not many new sports bettors were created in Connecticut. Rather, existing sports bettors shifted to legal markets.
Another point of interest is how the number of gamblers has barely changed since 2008, with about 30% of the population abstaining, roughly two-thirds falling into the recreational gambler bucket, a small percentage deemed at risk, and less than 2% classified as problem or pathologic gamblers. There has been a slight increase in the latter three categories since 2008.
And speaking of problem gamblers, the study offers some evidence for something everyone knows: that the 6.7% of gamblers in the at-risk, problem, and pathologic categories account for 71% of all self-reported betting.
“The proportion of overall self-reported gambling expenditure that comes from the 1.8% of the adult population who are classified as problem gamblers” comes in at 21.5%. “Equally concerning is the fact that 49.1% of all gross gambling revenue derives from At-Risk Gamblers who constitute only 4.9% of the adult population,” the report says.
Some other noteworthy stats from the report.
As I’ve been saying for a very long time, most people simply don’t care if gambling is legal or illegal.
“Gambling is ‘not at all’ or ‘not very important’ as a recreational activity for the vast majority of people (93.5%), although 1.8% indicate it is actually a ‘very important’ recreational activity.”
And in the not all gambling is the same bucket: “The majority of people (69.1%) believe that some types of gambling should be legal and some types should be illegal.” 21.7% believe all gambling should be legal, and 9.2% think all gambling should be illegal.
Beyond the Headline: Ammunition for Federal Action
Sen. Richard Blumenthal picked up on the story from his home state and used it to make the case for the GRIT Act, which he cosponsored with Rep. Andrea Salinas. You can read about the GRIT Act here.
Whether it’s betting scandals, regulatory missteps, high-profile book-bettor disagreements, infighting, or stories highlighting the social harms of gambling, the momentum is hurtling away from self-regulation by the industry and toward some form of governmental action.
Legislative Roundup: Minnesota Sports Betting Outlook; Missouri Bill Makes Progress; Wyoming Efforts Shelved
A temperature check on sports betting in Minnesota doesn’t tell us much. Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz was noncommital when asked about sports betting, “I would guess they’ll probably get close to getting something done.” Rep. Jeremy Stephens said he was “pretty optimistic,” while Sen. Matt Klein said he was “very optimistic.” There is also some chatter that non-tribal gambling expansions (a deal killer) like HHR are being floated.
A Missouri sports betting bill (HB 2331) is moving through the House, but with the Senate in utter turmoil, the Show-Me State’s best bet to legalize sports continues to be a ballot referendum backed by the state’s professional sports teams.
Wyoming was a short-lived UFO on the online gambling radar. Days after Wyoming’s efforts came to light, supporters announced the end of the 2024 push. The legislation failed to make it through a procedural vote and is now officially dead. You can find more on the Wyoming online gambling effort’s next steps in the Around the Watercooler section below.
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US Census Bureau Adds Sports Betting to QTAX Reports
How big is sports betting getting? It is big enough for the US Census Bureau to add it to its Quarterly Survey of State and Local Tax Revenue (QTAX) reports. In a February 13 memo, the USCB announced it “added sports betting (including pari-mutuels) to the extensive list of state and local tax revenue sources it already tracks.”
Per the report:
“In the third quarter of 2023, the most recent version of the QTAX, sports betting generated national state-level sales tax and gross receipts of $505.96 million, up 20.5% from the same quarter a year before, but down from $571.48 million the second quarter of 2023.”
The report isn’t trodding new ground (most affiliate websites track these numbers). Still, its inclusion is a strong indicator of how big the industry is becoming and how much bigger it’s expected to get when California and Texas come online and when online casino begins to proliferate. It also indicates that people are taking notice [see above section on federal action].
Around the Watercooler
Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.
Wyoming is down but not out, at least not in Jeremy Kudon’s eyes. Jeremy was instrumental in legalizing daily fantasy sports in 2015-2016 and beyond.
Kudon is bullish on Wyoming and beyond next year, noting this is the most interest he’s seen in online casinos since he entered the space in 2015.
In response to Grove, Kudon said he’s “bullish about prospects in Democratic-controlled states over the next 24 months.” The reason is “rapidly growing budget shortfalls and a lack of alternative revenue sources.”
Stray Thoughts
In yesterday’s Stray Thoughts, I mentioned hearing songs after many years. In the same vein, there are certain songs I remember hearing for the first time, and everything else stops, and I think, what is this? I have to know what this amazing sound is, and I have to possess it. Many great songs need to grow on you, but some speak to you the moment you hear them.