The Only Game in Town

Land-based casinos in the US are suffering from the devastation being caused by lost business revenues due to the Coronavirus pandemic. While there might be light at the end of the tunnel, the month's long shutdown of casinos we are seeing throughout the nation is going to hurt revenues and profits through at least the end of 2020.

Right now, movie theaters are in shutdown mode as are major sports events and leagues, concerts, amusement parks, and malls. The fact is tens of millions of Americans are cooped up in their houses with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

Of course, America's online casino industry has seen a recent dramatic boost in revenue and new registrations. admittedly, this is good news for all the wrong reasons. With that being said, it is good news that some Americans in states where online casino gambling is legal do have a way to occupy their time.

By the numbers, online casino operators in states like Pennsylvania and New Jersey are seeing a significant increase in business. For gambling conglomerates like Rush Street Interactive, this is very good news at a time when good news is hard to come by. Rush Street Interactive owns and operates the PlaySugarHouse.com and BetRivers.com online sites across several states.

According to Mattias Stetz, Chief Operating Officer of Rush Street, "It is still early and we are expecting the uptick to continue in the next few days."

With the Golden Nugget's casinos shuttered throughout the country, any revenue is good news. The company reports that traffic to its online casino websites has risen by 20% in recent days.

According to Thomas Winter, Golden Nugget’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of online gambling: "This is definitely the best alternate option we can offer to our live casino players."

The consensus within the gambling industry is online gambling revenue will only serve to make a small dent in what is expected to be heavy losses due to the virus issue.

For gamblers, online casinos are the only game in town, and they fully intend on taking advantage of having such access. Of course, residents in only six states are eligible to join in the fun.

Throughout the industry, there is hope that what's taking place will drive home the point that there is value to be had by legalizing all forms of online gambling. With all states now hurting for revenue, there's a good chance more states will be looking more closely at the online gambling issue.