Miller: ‘If it’s gambling, it needs to play by the rules’

American Gaming Association President and CEO Bill Miller recently discussed the controversy surrounding predictions markets in his opening remarks at this week’s G2E conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

During his opening remarks, Miller gave a brief history of the conference, which was launched in 2001.

Prior to his keynote address, the executive paid tribute to Ernie Stevens, who served as the Chair for the Indian Gaming Association (IGA) before his recent death.

Miller commended Stevens for his contributions to G2E and to the gaming industry through the years.

“Ernie played a key role forging effective partnerships between Tribal and commercial, which helps spur gaming’s growth into a thriving nationwide industry,” he said. “We will continue to build on Ernie’s legacy here at G2E. The guy was a great friend, and I miss him. I know there’s many people who similarly feel the same way.”

Industry challenges of yesterday and today

Miller highlighted some of the issues the gambling industry faced decades ago. However, he noted the market faces a new set of challenges today.

He commented, “In those early days, our biggest challenge was convincing Americans that we belonged. We’ve traveled from the margins to the mainstream, from what happens in Vegas to what happens in 46 states. Nine out of 10 Americans support us. We employ 1.8 million Americans, and we’re essential to state and tribal budgets from Oklahoma to Ohio. We deliver this impact when our economy is streaming forward, and we also hold steady when we encounter moments of economic uncertainty.

“Today, our biggest threat is not from the economic the current economic headwinds, or really any forces that are trying to stop us. The threat comes from the forces who want to copy us without earning it.”

Miller also explained why he believes predictions markets and sweepstakes casinos are causing more harm than good within the gaming industry.

He said, “They attempt to blur the lines, calling it games of chance, calling games of chance investing, skill games or sports event contracts, anything but what it really is, which is gambling. They even pretend to contribute to America’s economy. Sweeps operators in California bragged about the economic impact that they brought to the state of California. Nearly every penny of that impact goes to buying digital ads.

“The big difference between buying ads on Facebook and supporting jobs on mainstream and why is all the wildest deception. It’s simple. They want the opportunity, but they don’t want any of the regulatory compliance, and they really don’t care about their concern for the public good, but these illegal actors aren’t fooling anyone. If it’s gambling, it needs to play by the rules.”

Good to know: The AGA continues to affirm staying within legal compliance and advocating for operators providing entertainment through regulated means, something Miller said is lacking in predictions markets and sweepstakes platforms

“These operators have a word to describe what it means to ignore the rules, bypass the citizens offer no community benefits and tell customers it’s okay to lose your shirt,” he said in closing. “They call it innovation. I call it something else. It’s greedy, it’s reckless and it’s irresponsible. At the AGA, we believe that (legal) system is worth protecting.”

Laura Mack

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