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There was a time not long ago when the world of gambling was intrinsically linked with images of the glitzy strip in Las Vegas. Those who wished to try their hand at seducing Lady Luck would book a holiday to the so-called ‘Sin City’ in Nevada, Atlantic City in New Jersey or some other gambling hotspot.
However, the meteoric rise of online gambling – and in particular, the advent of live casino games – has jeopardized the ongoing survival of brick-and-mortar casinos altogether. It’s not that people are choosing to gamble less, but that they’re choosing to do so on their own terms. Here’s a quick glance at the reasons why land-based casinos may be on the way out.
Convenience and accessibility
For countless people all across the globe, visiting a casino used to involve buying a plane ticket and renting a hotel room for a long weekend or more. However, the growth of the online casino industry means that anyone, anywhere can now log on to their favorite casino website and lay a bet, at any time of the day. That kind of unprecedented accessibility has opened up the gambling sector to a whole new target market – but it’s also had adverse effects on the activity of its existing clientele. After all, why would you go to the effort and expense of getting dressed up and leaving the house to lay a wager when you can do so from the comfort and convenience of your living room?
Range of available games
Even the largest casinos in Las Vegas have a finite number of machines and tables that visitors can enjoy. By contrast, the internet is such a vast and virtually limitless place that the sheer breadth and depth of available games far eclipses that offered by its brick-and-mortar counterparts. Whether it’s a themed slot game, a poker competition or a live roulette table that punters wish to visit, the world is their oyster when they log in online. Similarly, there are no queues if your chosen game is already being played by someone else; you can always engage in your favorite activity, regardless of who else might be doing so.
Technological innovations
One of the last saving graces of the land-based casino is the human element it offers. People visit a gambling establishment to enjoy the thrill of placing a bet, for sure, but they also do so to interact with their fellow man. For a time, it looked as though this differential might prevent the online casino industry from usurping the position of its traditional alternative. However, the advent of the live casino, supplemented ably by technological innovations such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), means that gamblers can now enjoy the same social aspects and live chats that they would do in a brick-and-mortar casino. As such, the live casino could be the final nail in the coffin for the real-life casino.
While land-based casinos still represent a billion-dollar business in the USA and beyond, the rising popularity of online offerings could mean that their days as top dog are soon numbered.
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