Land-based options have always been a staple in the casino industry, but times have been changing with the digital movement and online options become more available and are able to pack much more into a small form fit shape. This past year has also certainly had an impact, with the pandemic leading to the closure of land-based locations, perhaps permanently for some – but what does the future hold for land-based options, and can many survive the impending changes that are certainly on the way?
Tech changes leave land-based options in the past – The biggest online services are able to offer thousands of different games and implement change and new tech overnight – upcoming options in virtual and augmented reality, for example, show this more than any other as opportunities becoming available can be implemented extremely easy for online options where land-based casinos may struggle to accommodate. This will be the big crux behind the future for land-based options, whilst there are certainly those who won’t stray from the established options offline, many new players will certainly be more attracted to online opportunities and it will be difficult to sway change from the growing popularity of these services.
Some land-based options may be unable to recover – It’s hard to discount the fact that there may just be a large number of land-based locations that won’t be able to remain open following the pandemic – many have asked for support as received it where possible, but there’s no guarantee that many will be able to re-open. There will also be uncertainty for players, unless many safety precautions are put in place, a number of players will be unwilling to return to crowded casino floors with the risk of the virus still looming overhead.
Regulation for online could help the offline options –There has been growing regulation in the online space – initiatives such as gamstop have started to limit options for some players online, and whilst there are options unregistered which you can find some here, more regulation will only come. With licensing and uncertainty moving forward in the online space for many, it may serve to bolster offline options as they remain more accessible to some and fall under less scrutiny as the established order of things stays in place. This next year will certainly hold the biggest impact, if land-based casinos are able to re-open without difficulty then it could largely be a return to normal, but if similar trends continue where online options grow and land-based options shrink, then the future of land-based options could certainly be very bleak, particularly as changes throughout the past decade have typically favoured online entertainment as a whole.
