Gaming Leaders Bullish on Incoming Trump Administration

A panel of mobile gaming experts at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States on Friday expressed optimism that the incoming Trump administration will take a hands-off approach to retail and mobile gaming, leaving control of the industry with the states’ gaming commissions and regulatory bodies.

Trump Good for Business

Republicans generally prefer a smaller government and less federal intervention in the lives of its citizens. Should President-elect Donald Trump follow that blueprint, industry insiders believe it will behoove the gaming business.

The Department of Government Efficiency

Trump has promised to put businessmen Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy in charge of the soon-to-be-created Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE for short. This department will be tasked with eliminating waste and cutting the fat from the federal government. Therefore, it would appear to be counterproductive to create a department, in this case, one to oversee the gaming industry, when the directive is to eliminate departments.

American Gaming Association President Bill Miller spoke at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) on Friday and commented on federal interdiction in the industry, saying, “There isn’t going to be a federal department of gaming with Elon and Vivek.”

Rush Street Interactive CEO Richard Schwartz was also bullish on the incoming administration, commenting at the Needham Consumer Tech and E-commerce Virtual Conference last month, “I think it’s always helpful to have a president who is not opposed to gaming expansion, which is the case with President-Elect Trump.”

Will iGaming Get a Push in 2025?

Another hot-button topic has been the expansion of iGaming after a year in which no online casino gambling legislation was passed. Only seven states offer iGaming, including Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and the most recent being Rhode Island, which passed iGaming legislation in 2023 and launched in March 2024.

Yet, that pales in comparison to the 38 states that offer some form of sports betting, whether it be mobile, retail, or a combination of both. But now that the election year of 2024 is nearly over and the promise of a new administration occupying the White House next year, the time appears to be right for more aggressive attempts to pass mobile sports betting and particularly iGaming legislation.

“We know that when an iCasino is added to a state with legal sports betting, about three-quarters of the taxes comes from iCasino versus sportsbooks, so it’s a very profitable way to raise taxes,” said Schwartz at the conference.

Calls for State Regulation

Dave Rebuck, the former director of the New Jersey Department of Gaming Enforcement, has been a vocal proponent of keeping the status quo and leaving the responsibility of regulating mobile and retail gaming in the hands of the states.

“I’m optimistic that evidence-based presentation to the Administration would show that the current interpretation has served the country well,” Rebuck said.

Nevada Representative Dina Titus, whose district includes part of Las Vegas and who co-chairs the Congressional Gaming Caucus in Washington, D.C., said, “I think that’s better to have self-regulation or state regulation, not to have the federal government get involved at this level,” Titus said.