Slots Play Casinos was established about a decade ago to be a watchdog and reporter primarily for the online casino market. We have always also covered land-based casinos, albeit mostly to show how online casinos are more convenient and better in many ways than land-based casinos.
Gamers have taken notice that land-based casinos seem to be in decline. The question is why.
Land-based Casinos Have High Operating Costs
When land-based casinos could count on being full or almost full all the time, their high operating costs were a kind of plus. People flocked to these casinos because everything about them said “entertainment”. The men dressed as centaurs, the exploding volcanoes, the in-house circus and amusement park, and so much more said “come here” to gamble and play at the same time.
Land-based Casinos Offered a Low-Cost Gambling Environment
In those halcyon days, land-based casinos could offer some freebies such as low buffet prices, free alcohol, low hotel room rates, and so on. But those days have passed, and all of the permanent operating costs are still in place, but there are a lot, meaning a real lot, fewer people coming to gamble.
The low-cost nature of land-based casino play was always an illusion, in any case. The hotel rates were low when compared to the rates at resort hotels, but they were never zero, and the cost of gaming at home is zero.
People who enjoy playing casino games have discovered the palpable advantages of playing casino games have over travelling to play. As advocates primarily of online casinos, Slots Play Casinos has covered this ground numerous times. It includes comfort, convenience, higher return to player rates, no overhead for gamers, and so on.
Unintended Consequences of the Covid 19 Shutdowns
The demise of land-based casinos really began when online casinos started to show their true colors as far as convenience and all of the other advantages they enjoy over land-based casinos came to the fore. This happened pretty quickly after online casinos came to the market in the mid-1990s. Gamers who were not in love with land-based casinos quickly discovered a fun, comfortable, and convenient way to play their favorite casino games.
However, way back in 1994, when the first online casino arrived, the whole idea of an online casino was very new. The whole idea of anything online was very new. A lot of gamers would learn to switch their gaming hats between online and on land.
Land-based casino owners and operators felt that they had enough drawing power despite the newly discovered competition from those upstart online casinos, who were experiencing growing pains of their own, to not only stay in business but to expand the land-based casino business model.
So, land-based casinos, for some time, became bigger and bolder and a lot more expensive to run.
Then Covid 19 hit!
Covid 19 Sent Shockwaves through Every Business
Businesses were forced to shut down for extended periods of time, including land-based casinos. Millions of casino gamers, who just wanted to spin a few slots or play a few hands of video poker or blackjack, quickly discovered the manifest benefits of online casino gaming.
We have been through this many times here at our blog. The advantages of online casinos over land-based casinos are in the areas of comfort, convenience, higher return to player rates, deposit bonuses in the thousands of dollars, free spins, unlimited free play, no waiting, a wider selection of games, and no travel costs.
The bottom line is that the competition between land-based and online casinos took a decided turn in favor of online casinos during the pandemic and has not abated since the pandemic ended.
Casino Gamers Are Not Returning in the Numbers Needed
Land-based casinos need players in the numbers they enjoyed before the pandemic. These numbers have not returned. It is true that some land-based casinos are doing alright while others are teetering on financial collapse. For example, the casinos in the old downtown area of Las Vegas are doing okay while the casinos on the Strip are doing poorly, to say the least.
This has a lot to do with overhead. A revolving door of players who come to the Strip only to have their costs exceed what they expected, and saying that they will never go back has begun.
Sometimes the shock is a bit petty, as in the very high prices for the buffet at Vegas casinos. Where once the buffet was about $10 or free if you got a voucher, now the buffet may run $50. A player who did not know that the price had zoomed up so much would not just be flabbergasted by the bill but downright angry.
The free alcohol does not flow as freely now as it did in the past. Hotel rooms are no longer the inexpensive luxury that made the Strip famous.
Now That Alcohol and Buffets are Less Free…
One thing land-based casino players never took to heart was that the casino made money by offering free alcohol. That’s because the players’ cognitive skills were impaired by the alcohol, causing them to make mistakes in betting and game play.
The free or inexpensive food did the same, as players would come back from that big buffet meal and play tired. That also led to many mistakes.
The fact that alcohol no longer flows as freely and the buffets are so expensive are clear indications that something is amiss at Strip casinos.
Land-based Casinos Need to Pay out Less
In order to raise enough revenues to pay their standard and unwavering operating costs, more and more land-based casinos are cutting the payouts for some hands in blackjack and video poker, and the return to player rates in slots.
In blackjack, many land-based casinos now pay only 6-5 for a blackjack. Reputable online casinos such as the 30-some online casinos we here at Slots Play Casinos have reviewed and recommended, are holding the line at 3-2 for a blackjack.
In video poker, many land-based casinos now pay out only 8-5 or 7-5 for a full house and a flush, while reputable online casinos are holding the line at 9-6.
Finally, in slots, many land-based casinos have a return to player rate of 90% or less in slots, while online casinos still have return to player rates of about 97%.
Local Land-based Casinos are Also Feeling the Pinch
The lessons learned during the shutdowns are still in effect at local land-based casinos. Another factor is that as players play casino games online more and more, they feel a much smaller need to go to a casino to play the same games.
People are reacquainting themselves with the charms of small towns, state parks, carnivals, state and local fairs, and so on. If they want to play a casino game or two, they can play at the mobile app provided by their online casino.
Only time will tell if the decline in popularity of land-based casinos is precipitous or if it will level off at some point. A leveling off will also mean the demise of some or even many land-based casinos.
We are certainly in for an interesting ride, and Slots Play Casinos will be there to tell you all about it.
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