57% of Americans Polled Support Casino Gambling
The American Gaming Association conducted a recent poll which showed broad support for gambling. In a nationwide poll, 57% of Americans support casino gambling. The poll also showed that 87% say gambling is an acceptable activity in general.
The survey of gamblers also showed that broad consensus of gamblers have quite healthy betting habits. 75% of gamblers set a budget when they enter the casino. Of these, more than half limit themselves to $200 or less. Many of these gamblers make a handful of casino trips–maybe only one–in a year’s time.
Pollsters – Glen Bolger and Mark Mellman
The American Gaming Association hired Republican pollster Glen Bolger and Democratic pollster Mark Mellman to conduct the study. In the telephone poll, 1,000 registered voters answered questions from the pollsters. These voters were selected to be a cross-section of America, representing a broad range of ages, ethnic groups, religions, socioeconomic classes, and political affiliations. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1%.
AGA’s Recent History
While some might dismiss a poll conducted by the American Gaming Association as a whitewash, the AGA has been anything but a rubber stamp organization lately. Just last month, the American Gaming Association announced it could no longer be a vocal advocate of licensed online gambling in the United States.
The stated reason for the change of policy was acrimony on the board of directions. The AGA offers a chair on the board for many of the big gaming companies of America: MGM Resorts, Wynn Resorts, Las Vegas Sands, Caesars Entertainment, IGT, Churchill Downs, and so on. The problem with this arrangement is some gaming companies might be proponents of online gambling (MGM, Caesars), while others are major opponents (Las Vegas Sands). When the board cannot agree on a policy, the organization cannot lead on the issue.
Of course, casino gambling is an issue with unanimous support on the board. Despite that, the AGA hired a bipartisan polling team to study the issue, so it was a legitimate study.
Online Gambling Pools Poorly with Americans
Mirroring the split on the AGA board, legal online gambling does not share the same consensus that casino gambling does. Recent polls conducted by a Fairleigh Dickensen researcher showed that Americans favor Internet gambling at a rate of 25% to 40%, depending on the part of the country.
While the average American sees walking into a casino for gambling as morally and socially acceptable, a majority seem to view computer gaming as dangerous and predatory. While few people complain about omnipresent lottery gaming in convenience stores and gas stations, mobile gaming is seen one step too far.
Why the Dichotomy?
People seem to view the machine-operated games as particularly troublesome. Slot machines have been dubbed more than once “the crack cocaine of gambling”. The automation makes the betting rapid fire and continuous, so a gambler can lose a lot of money in a short period of time.
Slot machines can be hypnotic in their repetition, and some opponents of slots gaming discuss how such games can lull a player into making bad decisions. Americans seem to have a similar reaction to online gambling and mobile gaming, which is similarly automated. Only the slot machines and video poker machines use a random number generator in a live casino, all gaming is handled this way in an online casino.
Sheldon Adelson Has a Certain Point
This is why Sheldon Adelson says online gambling is more dangerous for problem gamblers than casinos. While the statement might be self-serving, there’s a kernel of truth to the idea that mobile and online gaming is more convenient, and therefore more likely to lure gaming addicts into troublesome habits. Perhaps someone with qualms about the automization of gambling should remove their slot machines, but that would remove 60% to 70% of their winnings, too. That isn’t likely to happen.
A recent international poll found gambling to have a far worse reputation globally than it does in Europe and the United States. While casinos have wide acceptance throughout much of western civilization, the same cannot be said in Asia and Africa. Of course, China, Singapore, and Australia have burgeoning casino industries, but many other Asian countries do not want casinos on moral grounds.
