Gambling News | 21 Mar 2024

The SBA's economic forecast predicts that the online gambling industry will expand overall.

 Adding icasino to a market boosts total revenue and revenue at physical casinos, according to an economic analysis released by the Sports Betting Alliance (SBA).
 SBA financial evaluation
 Along with the study, 2,389 existing and "prospective" gamblers were polled by the Analysis Group.

 According to the research, after the launch of online casinos, physical casino income in the five states that allow igaming—Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia—climbed by 1.9%.

 There is no indication of brand loyalty or breakdown of which land-based casinos consumers visited in the survey.

 Among the survey's findings:

 In 2023, the total gaming revenue in states that currently have online casinos was 46% higher than it was before the casinos went live. If lawmakers in Maryland legalised online gambling, land-based casinos there would earn an extra $224 million. Maryland's total market is predicted to grow from $2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2029. Among the states that have legalised igaming, Pennsylvania has witnessed the highest revenue growth since the law was passed in 2018.  Revenue from Pennsylvania's gambling industry increased by 58.9 percent from 2018 to 2023.
 More people play at online casinos, which means more money for the government.
 According to the research, internet casinos open up new avenues for increased gaming frequency, reinvestment of tax income lost to offshore or out-of-state platforms, and market expansion owing to customer loyalty.  Customers from other industries, such as sports betting, could be lured into an online gambling platform by this.

 The article went on to say that traditional brick-and-mortar casinos aren't the same as their virtual counterparts and can appeal to different demographics.

 "Even after incorporating igaming into their routine, most customers still visit land-based casinos for gaming, both in terms of how often they go and how much money they spend," the authors noted.

 Some people also find extra activities offered by land-based casinos to be interesting.

 According to economic research, jurisdictions that legalise online gambling will witness a meteoric surge in igaming income within the first five years.
 The feeling was shared by other survey takers: "It's nice to do it online on a licensed casino app, but it's also nice to do it at a real casino," one Michigander said in his response (40 years old).

 "Because casinos have other activities I would enjoy and there is plenty of stuff to do," replied a 29-year-old male from New York.  "A vacation there would be enjoyable."

 Analysis Group discovered through the poll that although 1,118 people had engaged in igaming in the last year and 1,188 people had bet on sports online, at least 64% of those people had tried something else when gambling online.

 Analysis Group polled 200 individuals across all six states where internet gambling is now allowed as well as five states that are expected to legalise the practice in the near future.  Everyone who took the survey had to be at least 21 years old and have gambled at least once in the past year.  The survey was accessible online from January 17th to February 6th.

 Profits might quadruple in five years, according to the analysis.
 Numerous US-based operators provide online casino and sports betting services. These include both national and regional players, such as BetRivers and Penn Entertainment, as well as DraftKings, Caesars Entertainment, Fanatics, and FanDuel.  Companies can advertise both their online casino and sports betting brands through online casinos.

 According to Analysis Group, if five states—Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Virginia—were to legalise internet gambling, the money generated might increase from $5.9 billion in 2025 to $10.4 billion in 2029.

 In places where internet gambling is permitted, nearly half of all gamblers (49.4% to be exact) still frequent brick-and-mortar establishments.  In all, 26.5% patronise land-based casinos more often, while 18.7% do so less often.

 Similarly, 49.1% of people in the five predicted igaming jurisdictions said they would keep going to brick-and-mortar casinos on a regular basis.  On the other hand, 28.3% planned to go more frequently, while 16.8% planned to go less frequently.

 Participant sentiments expressed in anticipated online casino states
 Of those in states that allow internet gambling, 52.2% said their spending at land-based casinos is about the same as it was before the advent of online casinos, while 26.1% said it's higher.  As a whole, 16.9% reported cutting back on their spending.

 Respondents from the five states with planned internet casinos were quite similar: 49.4% planned to spend about the same amount of time at land-based casinos, 28.6% planned to spend more, and 16.5% planned to spend less.

 The study utilises a "unique model" to predict income from online gambling centred on sports betting because of the parallels between the two.  In addition, it draws on eight sources of data and offers a thorough overview of the evolution of igaming in the states where it is allowed, as well as summaries of comparable studies conducted between 2008 and 2024.

 "This study reinforces the empirical evidence regarding the market-expanding effect of igaming on the overall gaming market and the complementary nature of igaming and land-based casinos," the paper notes at the beginning.