Gaming Officials Claim Land-Based Casinos Are Not Dead

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 05/22/2021

Jane Shaw Senior Editor See Full Bio

We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.

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Land-Based Casinos Are Not Dead

Gaming officials have recently spoken out to claim that land-based casinos are not dead. This comes despite some claims that online casinos are the future of gaming, and the land-based casinos may have reached a point where they will now fall into decline.

Some claim that due to the digital revolution, online casino gaming has been growing in popularity for years and had become the future of casino gaming even before the global pandemic. The outbreak of the virus early last year was the final nail in the coffin for land-based casinos according to some people, but others have said that this is not the case.

A Difficult Year

There is no doubt that land-based casinos have had an extremely difficult year as a result of the global pandemic. Casinos were forced to close their doors for several months when the pandemic initially started to wreak havoc across the globe. Once they opened up again, they had to operate at a limited capacity and with stringent measures and restrictions in place.

In the meantime, those who wanted to enjoy the excitement of casino games spent even more time going on online casinos, and this saw the popularity and use of online casinos soar even further. As a result of this, online casinos saw sharp growth, particularly with many people using them while being locked down and unable to go out to enjoy entertainment.

While some have said that the situation marks the end of land-based casinos, The National Council of Legislators from the Gaming States claims that land-based casinos are still expanding, and that the industry is not dead.

Howard Glaser, global head of government affairs and special initiatives at Scientific Games, said:

Rumors of the death of land-based gaming are greatly exaggerated. Not only that, they are completely wrong.

In fact, some officials are predicting that the land-based casino industry will make a quick recovery from the pandemic once things get back to normal. With restrictions being loosened on a regular basis now, the situation for land-based venues is improving, and this will help casinos to get back on track.

Popularity of Online Casinos will Continue

Although officials have said that the future of land-based casinos still looks bright, they agree that the popularity of online casinos will continue.

This is not just because of new habits that people have developed during the past year. It is also down to the fact that more states now offer online casino gaming facilities and digital technology continues to improve.

Many gamblers were able to enjoy entertainment by going on online casino sites during the pandemic, particularly when casinos were closed and people were under stay-at-home orders. However, many crave the social benefits of going out to a casino to gamble and enjoy the variety of facilities that can be found at casino venues.

With the vaccination program continuing across the country, it is thought that COVID-19 restrictions will continue to be loosened over the coming weeks and months. This will give casinos even greater scope to get back on track.