Although thirty states have legalized sports betting since a US Supreme Court decision opened the door in May 2018, the tremendous slow growth of its online casino gaming counterpart has surprised many longtime experts in the American gambling industry even more than the quick legalization of sports betting itself.
This is true even though the second type of legal gambling has a more extended history—that is if we exclude the "gambling unicorn" state of Nevada.
Two states, Delaware and New Jersey, legalized "igaming" in the late 2013 season. Slot machines, blackjack, and roulette, among other popular casino games, are now available to adults in the area and those passing through, thanks to the rise of internet gambling. The management of a brick-and-mortar casino doesn't have a clue who walks in off the street and makes a big bet, but online gambling companies have complete visibility into their clients' identities from the moment they sign up.
According to casino reviews and news sites, the growth of internet gambling in the United States is a challenging problem to solve. This subject took center stage at last week's Saratoga, New York, Racing and Gaming Conference. Tropicana Atlantic City officials noticed that 60% of their mobile signup customers weren't in their electronic database in the first year of online casino play. Industry expert and senior advisor at Spectrum Gaming Group Michael Pollock commented during the "Casinos, Igaming and Sports Betting" panel discussion.
When casinos offer freebies to customers who use their loyalty cards, few regular gamblers say no. According to Pollock, the online offering was not successfully luring a "regular" away from the casino site and into the comfort of their living room sofa.
It was already shocking, he said, but Caesars announced it had found that 80% of its new internet customers weren't "in their system" before. Regarding new customers, Golden Nugget claimed an 89% rate. Pollock found that "double-dippers" make up around 11% of internet casino gamblers. But there are a lot of people who haven't been to the casino in a long time.