The Impact of Online Casinos on Society: Good for Me, Not for Thee?

It's amazing how one jurisdiction's online casino and sports betting endeavors has been met with high accolades and often equally solid revenue numbers.  Yet attempts to duplicate or exposure to this success in neighboring regions is met with apprehension and occasional disgust.  We have a few fine examples that have been brought to our attention in the past days alone.

You Can't Do That in Canada.... Well, Maybe in Ontario

The CBS this week featured a report on how Ontario-based sports betting ads continue to flood the rest of Canada's media markets.

No way Jose!  That can't happen here!

What's good in Ontario seemingly is not go in the rest of the nation.

As such, there is a coalition of Canadian lottery and gaming corporations pushing for the ads to be seen exclusively in Ontario.

"We are in a fight with people that are operating illegally in our provinces," said Marie-Noëlle Savoie, the British Columbia Lottery Corporation's chief compliance officer and vice-president of safer play & enterprise integrity — and a spokesperson for the Canadian Lottery Coalition.

"We're obviously not very happy about it."

There are now some 75 online casino platforms available to gamblers in Ontario and considered regulated entities there.  From sports betting to poker to live dealer games, where players can play with real live dealers in real time without ever having to leave one's home, it can all be found in Ontario.....but forbidden elsewhere in the nation?

Apparently so, at least in the eyes of Ms. Savoie. 

She expressed hope that ads purchased on national networks would be shown only in the province where they are regulated.

"If you buy in Ontario, you get Canada."

"It's not ideal when you have competitors, but they're actually not competitors in your market, showing up as if they are competitors."

By the way, it's no different in the US.  Even in states where sports betting is not yet regulated, sports betting apps flood the airwaves in those states during nationally televised games.

Beggars Can't Be Choosers....Or Can They?

In New York State, efforts are underway to enjoy what their neighbor New Jersey has loved for years..... the elusive online casino game.

At the start of last year, New Jersey noted an increase in year-over-year i-Gaming revenue of 9.7%.

Those numbers must of caught the attention of New York lawmaker and the state's biggest cheerleader for legalized mobile gambling, New York Sen. Joe Addabbo.

He helped get sports betting legalized and now Addabbo wants some of what New Jersey is having, i-Gaming.

Over this past weekend, New York legislators approved a state budget that did not include online casino gambling.

Addabbo vows to take this issue - not to the actual voters - but to the unions.  He says he's working with the council to come up with a plan to address mobile casino cannibalization concerns.

The state senator specifically wants to reach out to Hotel Trades, which is part of the nationwide AFL-CIO.

“I want to get together with the Hotel Trades Council and figure out a national model for how we can have iGaming and not cannibalize their brick-and-mortar casinos. We just need to have some initiative and get creative with the language.”

The union opposes the legalization of i-Gaming at this time, even with Addabbo's online casino bill SB8185 adding a $25 million fund for casino workers to sweeten the deal some.

Neighboring PA is Not Helping the Cause

This week we learned just how addicted folks are becoming to mobile gambling, specifically in Pennsylvania, another next store neighbor of New York State.

The "Pennsylvania Interactive Gaming Assessment: Online Gambling Report 2023," conducted by Penn State University in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP), supported the New York union's notion related to cannibalization. It found an uptick in online gambling to 16% in 2023. 

Among the key takeaways, online gamblers tend to be more active playing games on their mobile phones than are those who step foot in a brick and mortar casino.  In other words, they gamble more.  And it can be argued that this will curtail their activity in the retail venues.

The study found that those who gamble online and in person spend around $708 a month whereas the individual gambling in-person will tend to spend just $103 per month.

Must Be Something in the Water

WalletHub released its own PA findings this week when it comes to gambling.  The commonwealth ranks No. 5 in terms of "most gambling addicted states".

They cite the increase in bettors seeking out gambling counselors and more young people placing bets.  Pennsylvania ranked high in terms of "gambling-friendliness", according to their own findings. 

It's one of the reasons perhaps that the commonwealth is looking to ban the use of credit cards online for gambling.

WalletHub Analyst, Cassandra Happe, sounded the alarm.

“Gambling addictions can destroy lives the same way that alcohol and drug addictions can. While some people may be able to enjoy casual gambling from time to time, others need to avoid temptation altogether. People with a gambling addiction may find it helpful to live in states where places to gamble are less prevalent and laws against betting are stricter.”

But don't blame mobile gambling.

Nevada ranks No. 1 on their list.  That state, despite its extensive casino landscape, actually makes it difficult to place bets online.  In order to set up a mobile gambling account, one must do so at a retail establishment as opposed to simply registering from one's own living room.

Second on the WalletHub list is South Dakota.  The sparsely populated state features some of the highest casinos and gaming machines per capita. It also has a high prevalence of gambling through lottery tickets, with the 10th highest lottery sales per resident age 18+.  One thing it doesn't have though is mobile betting.

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com