As of right now, online casino gambling is only legal in a handful of US states, but despite not being allowed in all corners of the country, there’s no wavering within the industry that the future of gambling is online.
The major gambling industry conference, SBC Summit North America, took place just last week in New Jersey. Multiple industry executives didn’t beat around the bush regarding the difficulty they have had when it comes to expanding and getting online casino play legalized.
Staying positive is necessary in order to push the industry agenda forward and all across the board, the belief in a bright future of online gambling was evident.
Elizabeth Suever, Vice president of Government Relations at Bally’s Corporation
“Once you get to millennials, people are comfortable basically running their entire life off their cell phone,” said Elizabeth Suever, a vice president with Bally’s Corporation. “This is where gaming is going.”
I think we can all agree that it’s taking its sweet time.
7 States Are Leading the Way
The only 7 U.S. states currently offer legal online casino games and driving the train are: Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia. It should be acknowledged that Nevada does offer online poker but not online casino games.
Smoking Marijuana is Legal in 24 States
As a comparison, the fact that recreational Marijuana is legal in 24 states but online gambling in only 7 is ridiculous.
Legal US sports betting landscape as of May 24, 2024
Sports Betting Widely Accepted
What about sports betting you might ask? Well, that’s a whole different story because you can place bets online in as many as 38 states.
As soon as the US Supreme Court cleared the way for any US state that wanted to offer legal sports betting in 2018, the industry skyrocketed. Most people took for granted that the casino version would be next but for whatever reason, it just hasn’t happened.
Brandt Iden, a vice president with Fanatics Betting & Gaming said “It’s been a rough road. Igaming is paramount; this is the direction the industry needs to go to be successful, and this is where consumers want it to go.”
Even the banks are surprised that it’s taken this long but they do recognize it being the future of gambling. It was just last month that Deutsche Bank issued a research note saying it is likely a matter of “when, not if” online gambling in Atlantic City overtakes revenue from physical casinos.
Brandt Iden, Fanatics VP of Gaming and Betting
A Need to Educate State Lawmakers
One of the many things SBC Summit North America panelists agreed on is that the industry needs to do a better job of educating state lawmakers about internet casino games, drawing explicit comparisons with the illegal, unregulated offshore web sites that attract customers from across the country.
They made it clear that legal casino sites are strictly regulated and offer customer protections, including responsible gambling options like self-imposed time-outs and deposit and activity limits.
States Will Be Looking for New Revenue
Cesar Fernandez, a senior director with FanDuel, brought up the fact that online casinos should become even more attractive going forward as federal post-pandemic aid will soon dry up. This means that the states will be looking for new ways to bring in money without having to aggravate their residents by raising taxes.
“Since 2018, FanDuel has paid $3.2 billion in taxes,” he said. “That’s a lot of teacher salaries, a lot of police officers and firefighters.”
The Las Vegas Strip
Online vs Land Based Casinos – Why Not Both?
Another discussion that has been going on for a while is whether or not online gambling cannibalizes land based casinos. Personally I believe that there’s enough room for both to exist and that they in fact complement each other.
Spokesmen from the physical casinos are shouting from the rooftops how “we’re setting ourselves up for our own failure.”
According to one CEO, since online sports betting was legalized in Maryland, in-person sports betting revenue in the Maryland Live! Casino declined by 65%.
Of course the brick-and-mortar casinos will complain about the popularity of playing online and how it hurts their business. Sure, I can see how it can affect them in some ways but that’s always the case when it comes to industry competition and it’s good for the overall development and industry growth.
For example, Casinos in Las Vegas offer so much more than “just” gambling. It’s simply an experience that you won’t get playing online.
Cannibalization or Healthy Competition?
What might seem like cannibalization to one person could just be successful business to another company. By giving customers what he or she wants means you can take market share from a rival. That’s not cannibalization, it’s healthy competition.
Protesters are fuming in New Jersey
A Potential Smoking Ban Hits Atlantic City
Once again, I’m sure legalizing online gambling has had a certain negative impact on some land based casinos more than others. However, I also read the other day that the casinos in Atlantic City now fear another thing will end up ruining their business – a proposed ban on smoking.
More Job Opportunities for the Next Generation
We also need to remember that with more online casinos being allowed to do business, it will create thousands and thousands of new job opportunities.
Enjoy Playing Online
Being able to play slots, Blackjack, Roulette or whatever you prefer at your favorite online crypto casino is something we all appreciate and enjoy. It’s incredibly frustrating that so many US states still haven’t gotten their shit together and legalized it but sooner or later they won’t have a choice.
It’s time for a change!
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