American Gaming Association praises industry CSR efforts
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has praised the US casino gaming industry’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts, after new research from the organisation found that the sector was responsible for $367m (£275.8m/€322.1m) in charitable donations in 2017.
Working with the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation Corporate Citizenship Centre, the AGA has produced what it says is a first-of-its-kind research report into the industry’s community impact and commitment to communities, employees and customers.
In the report, the AGA states that while industry CSR programming aligns with much of the private sector, it takes the lead in certain areas such as monitoring its overall impact on the communities in which it operates, evaluating the effectiveness of its strategies and communicating these strategies to internal and external stakeholders.
The AGA surveyed and interviewed 15 of its members as part of the research. These companies represent 168 casino properties, 235,000 US employees and some $33bn in total revenue.
In the report, the AGA found that they are around 10 times more likely to map their CSR efforts to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals than Fortune 1000 companies.
AGA members are also more likely than other companies in the private sector to leverage a broad range of tactics to communicate their CSR efforts.
Meanwhile, in addition to charitable donations that exceeded $360m in 2017, the AGA said 93% of its members that took part in the research operate energy efficiency practices in their business.
Furthermore, 93% of members also have some form of recycling program in place, while members collectively diverted 100,000 tons of waste away from landfill, representing 38% of total waste.
In addition, the AGA said that all of its members that participated in the research have a responsible gaming policy in place to help protect their own customers.
“Above all else, the industry’s highest priority is to promote responsibility in all that we do, from being constructive partners in the communities where we operate, providing exceptional career opportunities to industry employees and ensuring all patrons have the tools they need to engage in our offerings in a responsible manner,” AGA president and CEO Bill Miller said.
“The report shows that the gaming industry is making good on our promise to be responsible community partners, contributing economically and socially to communities across the country.”
Carolyn Cawley, president of the US Chamber Foundation, also commended the efforts of the gaming sector, saying: “While CSR reports continue to become standard practice among American businesses, it is rare to see the collective impact of an entire sector.”