New Jersey-based Spectrum, together with its sister companies, Spectrum Asia, based in Bangkok, and Spectrum Gaming Capital, based in New York City, tracks these and other trends on a regular basis.
"Spectrum has a strong track record, dating back to 2004, of peering into the future, and helping our clients successfully identify opportunities," said Spectrum Managing Director Michael Pollock. "We trust that this carefully considered list will fill that role in 2017."
Top 10 Trends for 2017 (in order of prominence):
1.Significant
expansion opportunities are expected to arise as legislation is crafted in
Brazil, India and Japan.
2.Lotteries and casinos will both seek online opportunities, sometimes
with competing efforts in the same states and countries, creating competitive
challenges that legislators and regulators must sort out.
3.Casinos will leverage their under-utilized square footage to create
special attractions for Millennials, including lounges, entertainment, and
skill-based gaming options.
4.States will attempt to overcome stagnating gaming receipts by proposing
new forms of, or locations for, gaming such as retail gaming (i.e., a limited
number of electronic gaming devices in liquor-licensed establishments),
satellite casinos, and slots at airports.
5.Proponents of legalized sports betting --including the American Gaming
Association, state associations and individual operators - will push their
agenda more forcefully as state budgets continue to be strained, and as major
sports leagues seek to capture a substantial new revenue stream.
6.Macau will again become a growth story as gross gaming revenues
continue to climb and new integrated resorts open. The mass market will
dominate and VIP play will decline to less than 50 percent of GGR for the first
time since Macau reverted back to China.
7.The trend toward private management and, in some instances, private
ownership of lotteries will accelerate in various countries and US
states.
8.State legislatures will face pressure to reduce gaming tax rates, as
well as to amend or streamline regulations, in response to increasing
competition and the potential for saturation in various markets.
9.More casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City will stage eSports events
and contests, while Atlantic City will attempt to reposition itself as an
eSports hub.
10.The South of US will be a focus of casino opportunities, as the
potential for legalization and expansion is debated in Alabama, Florida,
Georgia and Louisiana.
Source: GMB
