Trends, News & Interesting Reads

Japan is getting ready to move forward with the development of three new casino resorts which were OK’d by Shinzo Abe’s coalition in July. There are still many unanswered questions about how the new bill will actually function. Where will the casinos be built? Will there be an online casino? Who will operate them? How will the government address criminal elements and gambling addictions which are certain to become problematic?

The epicenter of the casino world is shifting. Whereas only a few short decades ago Vegas was the focus of global gambling, new online casino and land-based centers have opened around the world. In the East Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand and even Japan are developing casino industries. Macau, however, has become the epicenter of Asian gaming with a multi-billion dollar infrastructure that continues to grow annually. 

Less than 12 months ago Wynn Resorts was rocket by allegations that founder and CEO Steve Wynn had sexually molested women. The story caused stocks to plummet, Wynn to resign and release his stock holdings in the company and officials to launch investigations in multiple locales.

Today however, the company seems stronger than ever. It is expanding land-based and online casino venues in both America and overseas and may even become one of only three selected companies to open the casino entertainment business in the lucrative Japanese market.

Casinos run online Vegas games tournaments for many of their games but the highlight of any casino’s tournament schedule is the poker tournament. If the casino is a big one and if the prizes are major, the tournament may draw the world’s top poker players to the competition. It’s not uncommon for the poker pros to fly from one tournament to the next and the casinos schedule their tournaments to accommodate the big players’ schedules. 

Many amateur poker aficionados pay significant buy-ins for the chance to play with the pros. Usually the opportunity to sit with the world’s top poker players is enough but every once in awhile a newcomer walks away with the grand prize.

The gambling industry in Canada isn’t a Northern backwater enterprise any more. Canadians and their provincial governments are embracing gaming entertainment with Grande Vegas and a wide range of additional brick-and-mortar and online initiatives. Ontario has been a leader in bringing gambling to Canada on a big scale and its casino industry brings a boost to the local economy. 

Some of the latest casino happenings in Ontario include: 

The Supreme Court ruling that allows states to legalize sports betting is only a few months old but states, Vegas casino companies and other gaming enterprises are now beginning to come to grips with what the new laws mean.

One of the biggest changes involves the ability of states to legislate online gambling. Many states have done just that including New Jersey where sports betting and online gaming are moving ahead quickly.

Security at the Macau casinos is some of the toughest in the world. The Vegas online and land-based casino industry fights a daily battle against the region’s organized crime which has been, for many years, intertwined with politics. When the Portuguese ruled Macau as a colony the Portuguese administration had a cozy relationship with casino operators. Together with the general bureaucratic corruption, the situation was ripe for organized criminals to grab a big piece of the pie. 

In an effort to help consumers learn more about the addictive components of slots entertainment, the Ontario Gambling Corporation is testing “calorie labels” on its casinos’ online Vegas games slot machines. The experiment, which was designed in an attempt to copy the warning labels that are placed on nutritionally questionable foods, gave the slots gamers basic information about slots odds and its focus on getting players to play more and more. 

The growing Asian market, sports betting and a proliferation of new slot machines is fueling the growth of the Vegas online and land-based casino market. By 2023, estimates are that the global gambling market will reach revenues of over $525 billion with a 4% CAGR growth in the years leading to 2023.

The market, which is seeing increasing penetration of online gaming and betting across the North American and European region, will be augmented by increasing per capita income, growing interest and rising number of dual-income households worldwide.  It’s expected that the increasing penetration of mobile applications and the rising demand for online games will help attract new players in this market over the next few years. 

College sports officials were some of the most vocal opponents of the push to lift the ban on sports betting. Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that sports betting is, indeed, legal in states where the state legislature authorizes the practice, these officials are monitoring the situation carefully to make sure that the online (maybe at our own Grande Vegas one day?) and offline sportsbooks respect college football’s unique position. 

The first college football games of 2018 were played last week and it was the first time that legal gambling was allowed on predictions of the games’ outcomes. Gambling on college football has been taking place – illegally – around the country for decades but now it’s out in the open. Everyone is getting ready for the adjustment.