The life of a gaming industry executive is nothing if not a tremendous balancing act. In today’s market, casino executives must do a delicate dance that involves engaging customers both online and at land-based casinos. Gaming companies that emphasize one of these markets too much are in danger of starving the other. Ignore one of them, and your competitors will eat you for lunch.
Las Vegas Sands CEO Robert Goldstein recently addressed this balancing act during an earnings call that focused on a potential expansion to New York, and the impact of online gambling on land-based revenues.“I’ve always been the biggest advocate for New York and other jurisdictions. The only concern I have these days is the ongoing strength of online gambling. We can’t ignore what’s happening in New Jersey, in Pennsylvania, in Michigan,” he told investors in comments reported on by SBC Americas.
Companies like the Sands are concerned that any land-based facility they build in a newly opened market (like New York) could see its revenue impacted by online gambling in that market or other regional online gambling markets.“I need some understanding of how the market thinks about online gambling. If any market does legalize it, you have to think ‘what does it mean to me and my capital investment?’ It makes you stop and scratch your head. You can’t ignore that possibility when you see the impact of online in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan on land-based revenue,” Goldstein observed.
Goldstein and other casino executives do have some time to figure out their land-to-online ratio in the New York market, which isn’t expected to really open until sometime in 2026.