Gambling in the United States
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Economy of the United States |
|---|
In the United States, gambling is subject to a variety of legal restrictions. In 2018, the United States Supreme Court declared a federal ban on sports gambling to be unconstitutional in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association. In the years that followed, dozens of states legalized sports gambling, and the sports gambling industry has recorded record profits year-by-year.
The American Gaming Association, an industry trade group for commercial gambling, reported $66.6 billion in revenue (the difference between the total amounts wagered minus the payouts) and $14 billion in state and local taxes paid in 2023. For the same year, the National Indian Gaming Commission reported that Native American gaming operations generated $41.9 billion in revenue.
Critics of gambling argue it leads to increased political corruption, compulsive gambling, and higher crime rates. Others argue that gambling is a type of regressive tax on the individuals in local economies where gambling venues are located.