The changing role of land-based casinos in a digital age

It’s fair to say that some land-based casinos have been able to maintain their relevance and generate higher levels of activity than even some decent medium-sized online competitors.

When online casinos first exploded onto the scene, they were a revelation. Some analysts within the space predicted that they would render land-based casinos irrelevant. While the situation hasn’t become that dire for land-based casinos, they have had to make a few sharp adjustments to ensure they remain relevant and competitive in the face of digital juggernauts taking over the industry.

Throughout the last 20 years, land-based casinos have faced challenges to their dominance that few would have foreseen, even as late as the 1990s. However, by the early 21st century, hundreds of casino companies were scrambling to either digitize a part of their business model or to shift their focus online completely.

Within this hysteria, land-based casino bosses had to go back to the drawing board and devise new ideas and strategies to reshape their roles and remain relevant. Let’s see how they found ways to stay relevant.

Exploring the olden days

It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago that land-based casinos still ruled the roost. While the industry has been impacted by online casinos  to a remarkable extent, it wasn’t really until the midpoint of the 2000s that the focus began to shift in favor of digital platforms.

The early issues that online casinos faced — including slow connection speeds, expensive home connections, and the high price of home PCs, which priced the majority of people out of the market — were all challenges that the tech industry rose to throughout this period. The internet has become infinitely more accessible, cheaper, and faster, with broadband internet  being one of the greatest innovations of its time.

Once the first smartphone and app store emerged in 2007, it became clear that this was the direction casinos were heading, and land-based casinos needed to rise to this challenge or face a scenario that many wouldn’t have thought possible a decade earlier. Many faced the risk of becoming irrelevant in the face of global digital competition, which offered cheaper and more convenient access to millions of people.

Land-based casinos as entertainment hubs

The primary draw for many people who prefer land-based casinos is the entertainment they offer. This can take many forms, and it is something that land-based casinos have been able to perfect decades before the internet started to interfere with their market dominance.

Land-based casinos spend big money on bringing in some of the biggest names in entertainment. Throughout history, this has proven to be a remarkably effective marketing tool. In the face of digital casinos, whose achilles heel is that they are unable to offer the social element as effectively as land-based casinos can, it becomes a big part of the planning for those conventional providers who are battling for relevance.

The success of landmark sporting events, such as boxing world title fights and PPV UFC events, has demonstrated that land-based casinos still play a vital role in providing a more well-rounded night of entertainment. Elvis Presley showcased this in the 1970s in Vegas, and the name remains one that holds considerable weight  and relevance in the Vegas entertainment sector, with impersonators and documentaries still drawing a vast audience.

You can apply this definition to all types of world-class entertainment, ranging from stand-up comedians to overseas sporting events, all of which hone in on Sin City.  The land-based casinos that operate there are more than happy to leverage this as part of a broader tourism package.

Bottling up that social element

Even with the Metaverse and VR gaming becoming increasingly significant parts of the tech revolution in online gambling, it’s still a long way from being able to recreate the aura, atmosphere, and social aspects of land-based casinos. This is their unique selling point, but there also needs to be a structure that ensures it’s a measured approach to bringing in new customers.

Events and ideas, such as movie drinking games  that focus on casino-based films, and offering competitions exclusive to in-person gamblers, are just some of the ideas that have been floated over recent years.

Land-based casino bosses are not stupid, and the majority of them understand that this is where they have a rare advantage over digital casinos, which have been able to bypass them in almost every other variable imaginable.

The importance of responsible gambling

Online casinos also utilize a range of deposit tools and cooling-off periods to manage customer bankrolls and ensure their gambling remains within a strict framework, both in terms of time and deposit limits. Land-based casinos have implemented card and points systems, where gamblers scan and earn loyalty points.

For those casino gamers who frequently visit land-based casinos, various responsibilities and tools are available to protect problem gamblers. As the industry grows and responsible gambling remains the backbone of a healthy sector, this is another area where the changing role of land-based casinos can prove to be a positive rather than a negative.

Final thoughts

The changing role of land-based casinos in a digital age is not a simple one-size-fits-all model; it’s something that is changing all the time based on consumer trends and global technological innovations. But, the primary foundation and relevance of land-based casinos stems from their ability to offer a social setting, live entertainment, and an atmosphere and camaraderie that is just not something that online casinos can match.

Even with the substantial amount of money and resources invested in AI and VR ideas, and VR casinos gaining more focus, as long as land-based casinos can leverage the power of their social setting and physical appeal, they will remain relevant for decades to come.

Yes, the role of land-based casinos will continue to change, as it has in every decade since the rise of the online casino in the 1990s. However, as long as they do not lose sight of the things they do well, and they know how to leverage them effectively, then there’s certainly room within the industry for both types of gambling platforms to succeed.