A new investigation from the American Gaming Association trade group has discovered that the casino industry supports some 635,000 tribal jobs while having an economic impact worth almost $97 billion.

Established in 1994, the American Gaming Association revealed that its The Economic Impact of Tribal Gaming: A First-Ever State-By-State Analysis study additionally found that tribal gaming produces approximately $16 billion in direct payments and taxes for federal, state and local governments while accounting for well over $33 billion in employee wages.

The American Gaming Association works to educate and lobby on behalf of the industry at many levels and released the findings of its most recent investigation on Tuesday as part of a Get to Know Gaming roundtable discussion session with gaming sector leaders held in Oklahoma City.

The study from the American Gaming Association moreover revealed that tribal gaming in the United States had grown by over 300 times since the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988 to be worth around $30 billion in 28 states.

Geoff Freeman, President and Chief Executive Officer for the American Gaming Association, declared that the casino gaming industry is a ‘strong community partner’ in 40 states including Oklahoma before stating that continued cooperation between tribal and commercial operators would help the entire sector ‘to grow in the years to come’.

The most recent investigation from the American Gaming Association follows the release earlier in the year of its The Gaming Industry’s Impact on Small Business Development in the United States report. This study examined almost twelve gaming markets across the country and found that the casino sector generates some $52 billion in annual revenues for small businesses while accounting for around $13 billion in employee wages.