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Can we start ignoring ‘polls’ about the popularity of legalizing online casinos yet?

Legal Writer

Publish Date: Apr 02, 2026

Fact checked by: Matt Moreno

Key Points

The National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG) and Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) both have recently conducted surveys surrounding online casinos.
Companies behind both organizations should be examined concerning their respective motives.
The lack of transparency with polls on both sides of the iGaming debate should raise red flags.

Recent “surveys” suggesting that respondents oppose or support the regulation of iGaming aren’t worth the data used to open the corresponding documents. Legalization of online casinos has become a polarizing issue, but there is little legitimate evidence that polarization is sharp among the general public in U.S. states.

Rather, the divide is between gaming companies that have and haven’t committed to competing in the regulated space for iGaming in the U.S.

Online Casino Poker

Recent “polls” suggesting that a “majority” of registered voters oppose or support the regulation of online casinos in various states are strong evidence of this widening gulf. These “surveys” are of little value outside of revealing the divergent priorities for entities on both sides of the debate.

The NAAiG’s campaign to convince everyone that legalizing online casinos will cause the sun to explode

Upon many instances of potential iGaming regulation in a U.S. state since November 2025, the most consistent and prompt opposition has come from the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG). The organization formed in November to “protect jobs, communities, and our loved ones by opposing online gaming.”

Since November, the NAAiG has commissioned “polls” in Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Virginia. In each case, the key findings stressed that “a majority of voters oppose legalizing online casino gambling.”

These asserted “majorities” range from 80% in the Colorado report to 56% in the Massachusetts publication. Among the other messages these “surveys” are sending are:

Online casinos have failed to prevent teenagers and children from gambling online
Online gambling has the highest risk of creating gambling addiction
Respondents would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supports iGaming regulation

The Sports Betting Alliance has begun to issue a response to this cavalcade of oppositional messaging.

Response from the other side of the debate over online casinos

The NAAiG’s “polls” haven’t gone unanswered. In February, the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA) commissioned its own “poll” of Massachusetts residents. The SBA “believes [that] customers in all 50 states should enjoy the benefits of transparent and legal sports betting and online casino gaming.”

Unsurprisingly, the report suggests “a majority support for legalizing and regulating iGaming in the state.” The findings in the SBA’s Massachusetts “survey” communicates almost the exact opposite perspective supposedly aligned with the population’s sentiments.

Legal online casinos provide safeguards for people who experience disordered gaming
Regulation prevents underage online gambling
Tax revenue from online gaming is preferential to other forms of revenue creation for the state

Even a cursory look at the entities funding the NAAiG and SBA reveal the motives of commissioning these “surveys.” In all cases, these organizations got exactly what they paid for out of the “polls.”

The gaming companies behind the NAAiG and SBA

Nearly all NAAiG members are either operators of brick-and-mortar casinos or vendors who service those properties. Among the more prominent NAAiG members are Churchill Downs and The Cordish Companies.

Churchill Downs operates physical gaming venues in Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia. The Cordish Companies also have a property in Maryland.

Monarch Casino Resort Spa in Black Hawk, Colorado is an NAAiG member as well. In terms of the SBA, the member roster includes expected parties.

bet365
BetMGM
DraftKings
Fanatics
FanDuel

All of these SBA members offer market share-leading licensed iGaming platforms in U.S. states that have authorized such gambling such as Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. That market share prominence has become the point of separation between NAAiG and SBA members fueling the contradicting messaging.

Churchill Downs as a case study

Regarding online casino gaming, the industry in the United States has matured to where a full commitment or a total abandonment of the vertical are two prominent courses of action. Churchill Downs is a great example of the latter.

Churchill Downs launched its Twinspires online casino in Michigan in January 2021, then took it live in Pennsylvania in April before following that up with a New Jersey launch in December of the same year. However, Churchill Downs reported that adjusted EBITDA for the full year of 2021 for Twinspires “decreased $34.9 million from the prior year due to $27.1 million increase in the loss from Sports and Casino due to increased marketing and promotional activities.”

As a result, Churchill Downs announced its exit from online casino and sports wagering activities during its Feb. 24, 2022 earnings call covering the fourth quarter and full year of 2021. During the call, Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen said that the company “had high hopes for building a profitable business” in that space but “the online betting space is highly competitive with an ever-increasing number of participants” with some operators “pursuing maximum market share.”

Carstanjen made clear that the decision to cease iGaming operations was “not the result we wanted, but it is the prudent next step.” In other words, Churchill Downs ascertained that market share dominance was essential to getting the return they wanted on expenses for online casinos but the cost of competing for that market share was an expense the company was unwilling to commit to.

In light of Carstanjen’s comments, it’s fair to prognosticate whether Churchill Downs would currently employ such a vociferous anti-iGaming stance if Twinspires was an online casino market share leader in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The Cordish Companies’ approach to iGaming represents a slightly different set of circumstances, but the connection between market share and iGaming advocacy remains.

The Cordish Companies’ limited iGaming interest

The Cordish Companies’ main gaming brand is Live!, with four brick-and-mortar properties operating in three states. Live! Casino Philadelphia participates in Pennsylvania’s regulated online casino market via its proprietary PlayLive! brand.

The Cordish Companies also operate a similarly branded social gaming platform online. As The Cordish Companies is a private enterprise, it’s difficult to ascertain just how much of the entity’s revenue comes from its limited online gaming interests.

In testimony to the Maryland legislature in 2025, The Cordish Companies Executive Vice President and General Counsel Mark Stewart argued that while The Cordish Companies would take part in the market if Maryland authorized online casino play, it nonetheless opposes the expansion of gaming in that way.

Stewart asserted that “we stand to make a lot of money if iGaming is legalized” in Maryland but the performance of PlayLive! in Pennsylvania suggests otherwise in terms of market share. In January 2026, the most recent month for which the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has reported numbers, Live! Philadelphia brought up the rear in the state in terms of iGaming revenue at just over $2.1 million.

For comparison, market leader Hollywood Penn National brought in almost $121.1 million during the same month. Hollywood Penn National partners with BetMGM, DraftKings, and Fanatics for online casino play.

It’s possible that The Cordish Companies could partner with other iGaming brands in other markets, like it has with FanDuel in Maryland for sports wagering, and grab a bigger share of the market in that way. It’s worth pointing out that The Cordish Companies have not called for the repeal of online casino legislation in Pennsylvania.

The same question comes to bear with The Cordish Companies as is relevant with Churchill Downs. If PlayLive! was a dominant brand in Pennsylvania, would The Cordish Companies be undertaking so many efforts to oppose the expansion of iGaming? As that is a hypothetical situation, The Cordish Companies have the luxury of plausible deniability on the issue.

Just as there is a strong correlation between companies opposing the expansion of online casino play and failing to gain market share in the space, there is a similarly strong correlation between dominating the market and looking for more.

As previously mentioned, BetMGM, DraftKings, and Fanatics power the market leader in Pennsylvania. FanDuel also contributes heavily to another top contender in Pennsylvania, Valley Forge Casino Resort.

The data is more succinct in New Jersey, where the Division of Gaming Enforcement shares iGaming revenue data down to the “skin” instead of only the licensee. Using January 2026 as a sample, the top three operators by revenue in New Jersey for that month were BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel.

BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel all have brick-and-mortar sports wagering operations along with very limited in-person casino gaming businesses. For all of these companies, iGaming is a major segment.

Online casino winnings accounted for about 65.3% of BetMGM’s 2025 net revenue, for example. iGaming brought in more than twice the amount of net revenue that online sports wagering did for the year for BetMGM.

These facts and a lack of disclosure about how the commissioned parties conducted their “polls” demonstrate why “surveys” commissioned by these organizations are virtually worthless and state lawmakers would do well to ignore them completely.

Why NAAiG, SBA “polls” should be utterly dismissed

Besides the obvious bias in the funding sources, the lack of transparency from the firms that conducted these “surveys” about the choices in and wording of the questions posed to participants should be a red flag for anyone looking over them. The few details provided do give some insight into how polling was designed to produce the desired response, though.

In each case, the “leading questions” principle is a valid concern. That effect is when a pollster intentionally arranges and designs questions to lead participants to a desired and pre-determined response. It’s an effect that writers of the second episode of the television show, “Yes, Prime Minister” expertly provided social commentary on.

The Colorado co/efficient publication did not provide the wording of the questions or the order in which they were posed to participants. The report does state that “as voters learned about the economic and mental health harms associated with online casino gambling, opposition increased significantly.”

The Beacon report for the SBA also hints at leading questions. For example, the text claims that “nearly all voters share the view that adults should be able to gamble if they choose” and “three-quarters of the electorate agree that unregulated offshore gambling poses a risk to consumers.” Beacon also did not disclose the exact wording of the questions or in which order they were presented.

Combined with shallow information on how the firms accounted for demographical differences to ensure that respondents represented a true sampling of a state’s population, the only face value these polls provide is proof that the NAAiG and SBA have enough resources to buy this kind of messaging.

Going deeper than face value, these “surveys” demonstrate a chasm between the “haves” and “have nots” in terms of online casino market share in the United States regarding the expansion of that market. If a gaming company takes a firm stance on either side of that argument, it’s a good bet that online casino revenue is either crucial to their business or a minuscule component of the same at best.

To find even more news and updates on online casinos and more, head over to our Ballislife Play page.

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