Here we are, the year 2022. No, it’s not some futuristic sci-fi movie title; it’s 2022. And, legal sports betting is happening in your state, which was something that sounded like the concept of a flying car ten years ago. Since 2019, twenty states have passed and executed legal sports betting. Most of those states have regulated mobile sports betting.
And since 2019, the number of states that passed and executed iGaming?
One.
Just one. (Congratulations, Connecticut, you get it.
First, let’s define iGaming, i = “internet,” Gaming = “gambling games,” or simply betting over the internet. Blackjack, roulette, slot machine games, craps, etc., are now being played online in six states. Let me qualify that, LEGALLY online in six states because… guess what? The play of online casino games is happening in every state through the black market. (More on that later.)
So, your state has mobile sports betting. I have to tell you that it has iGaming. And no, I’m not talking about the black market; that’s later. I’m telling you that the apps, systems, platforms, and cyber security that delivers legal mobile sports betting are the same tech that provides legal iGaming. Again, iGaming is betting over the internet. Mobile sports betting is betting over the internet.
You have everything you need to take the next step. So why aren’t you?
Is it the fear that iGaming will cannibalize the retail (brick and mortar) casino market?
As discussed in my article “How COVID-19 Changed the Course of The Gaming Industry”, I showed how iGaming in New Jersey grew brick and mortar (B&M) revenue. That’s right. That fear is keeping you from GROWING your current casino market. When every 30-year-old has a computer in their hand, that’s a way to reach them. That’s the way to get the younger generation to come and enjoy the entertainment a casino can provide.
Contrary to popular belief, the younger generation does leave the house. Give them some credit. They brought us craft breweries, food trucks, organic farmer’s markets, coffee that will keep you awake for days, art-house cinemas, and no one can forget gourmet mac ‘n’ cheese. And how do you get all these incredible things?
That’s right; you leave the house.
If you put a mobile casino game in their pocket, they’ll play. And if you send them a reward to visit the new brewery at your casino with the best gourmet mac ‘n’ cheese, they’ll come.
So go get them.
And, now back to the black market, do you want to stop having customers send their money offshore?
Legalize and regulate iGaming.
That’s it. You will drive out the black market when you make a safe and legal one.
You already have sports betting. What are you waiting for?
Joseph Bunevith
GLI’s Director of Client Solutions
