One of the major reasons that land-based casino operators continue to oppose the legalisation of online gambling is that they are concerned that their business would be cannibalised. Now, one of the world’s biggest gambling operators has spoken out, stating that it is not worried that the online casino industry will take business away from their land-based counterparts.
This week, Caesar Entertainment spoke at a hearing for the legalisation of online gambling. Caesars Entertainment. David Satz, VP of Government Relations for Caesars Entertainment, testified at the hearing which was held by Democrats in Pennsylvania to discuss the pros and cons of regulating the online casino market in the United States.
He stated that online gambling would not take business away from land-based casinos and only serve to boost its popularity. He cited statistics show that 91% of Caesars’ online casino are not registered at land-based casinos. The 9% who are registered at the casino actually increased their spending at land-based locations by 11% since the brand’s online casino website went live.
He also quoted similar statistics from Borgata, which show that 85% of online casino players are not registered at the land-based location in New Jersey. “We’ve actually seen increased play and increased visitation to our sites,” says Satz. “So this idea that online poker is somehow going to cannibalize has no factual basis”. These findings are important for unregulated online gambling markets around the world.
Legalising online casino gambling would only serve to increase activity across all areas of the gaming market. It is certainly something to consider in Australia, as local politicians are still on the fence about regulating online pokies and other online casino games.
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