Trends, News & Interesting Reads

Worries about the impact that online gaming might have on the Vegas casinos seem to be unfounded. Even as playing online Vegas games online grows, profits at the Vegas brick-and-mortar casinos is skyrocketing, leading industry insiders to predict that the economy can look forward to new developments and investments in Vegas entertainment.

Less than two months after the Supreme Court ruled that states could legalize sports betting, New Jersey – the state that challenged Congress's ability to limit that option – is racing ahead. New Jersey already had the legislation in place before SCOTUS's May 14^th ruling and almost immediately casinos started to submit their applications to operate sports betting online Vegas games in their venues.

Casinos say that nobody connected to the Vegas online and on-site industry benefits from problem gambling. Problem gamblers lose money that they can't afford to lose, see relationships disintegrate and suffer emotional and physical health deterioration.

The casino industry also suffers. The fall-out from problem gambling is one of the biggest objections that community activists and public officials have to opening new casino sites. The sector's reputation suffers and that impacts business negatively.

When SCOTUS ruled that states could legislate sports betting in their states, no one realized the impact that it would have on the fantasy sports industry. The Grande Vegas daily fantasy sports has benefitted from the new sport betting reality and is on the cusp of a major growth spurt in New Jersey and around the country.  

A threatened trade war between China and the United States might be placing the Macau casino empire in peril. Yet many observers see cause for optimism as the mass market drives Macau Grande Vegas casino growth higher from one quarter to the next.

MGM Resorts International, which owns Mandalay Bay, went to federal courts in Nevada and California last week to request that the court  declares that MGM is not liable for the October 2017 mass shooting that was carried out by a gunman who shot from his bedroom at the  Mandalay Bay hotel.

The online vegas games company requested that all claims against them be dismissed, arguing that “plaintiffs have no liability of any kind to defendants.”

The World Showdown of Esports (WSOE), a new esports tournament series, will debut this weekend at the new PokerGo Studio in Las Vegas. WSOE is ESP Gaming’s latest Vegas casino esports venture. The fight-card format will see head-to-head matches between players from OpTic Gaming, Team Vitality, Team Envy, Tempo Storm, and other premier esports teams. The league’s first champions will be crowned at the conclusion of the  PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Pan-Continental competition.

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) released figures for the state's first week of licensed wagering operations. The numbers show that the first week's legal wagers generated just under $3.46m in revenue.  Naysayers have been saying that these types of Vegas online bets wouldn't fly in New Jersey but the statistics seem to show otherwise.

In addition, the sports betting doesn't seem to be taking gamers away from the land-based casinos. According to the NJ DGE, June’s brick-and-mortar casino revenue improved 5.1% over the same month last year, bringing in a total hit of $207.5 million. During the same course of time, slots revenue gained to $153.2, a 7.2% increase. Table games dipped a bit -- sliding 0.5% to just under $54.3 million. 

The popularity of skill-based games, in which the outcome of the game is determined by the competitor's mental skills (ability to reason, think strategically and remember information learned) or the physical skills (fast reaction-time, dexterity, etc) seemed to stall after the first skill-based games were introduced.

A new generation of skill-based games that were recently introduced to the Vegas casino by Gamblit elicited mixed results but Gamblit is moving ahead with new skill-based game designed, buoyed by the belief that, once players become accustomed to this new type of games, they will prefer such game options.

Until May 14 2018, the only state where you could legally gamble on professional and college sports was Nevada.

The American Gaming Association is estimates that legal sports betting will generate up to $26 billion in economic activity. It is also expected to increase tax revenues to federal, state, local and tribal sovereign governments by as much as $5 billion.