Casinos are roaring back to life after the COVID pandemic. The pandemic of 2020 brought the gaming industry to a halt with nearly every casino shutting down in person gambling for months.
However, the industry has come back in record-setting fashion, and legislative changes are helping casinos add new and exciting revenue streams. While traditional gambling options like table games and slot machines are still the bread-and-butter of most casinos, there are new options that can provide more diversified revenue.
Below are four exciting ways a casino can enhance their revenue. Some of these will depend on the laws in your state. However, it’s clear that gambling is becoming more mainstream across the country, offering new opportunities to generate revenue.
Online Gaming
The internet has changed nearly every aspect of our lives over the past 20 years. Gambling is no exception. There was a time when online gambling straddled the lines of legality, and most online casinos were run from outside the United States.
However, online casinos like this website are now a common platform. Full online gaming is legal in seven states in the United States. Another 20 allow online sports betting and horse racing.
Brick-and-mortar casinos can stay in connection with their customers by tying their rewards programs to their online casinos. Your customers can keep earning rewards whether they’re in your building or playing online at home.
By extending your casino online, you can continue to generate revenue even after the customer has left the building and gone home. That can open up a whole new stream of revenue that never existed before.
Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy
Sports betting has exploded in popularity in recent years as more than 25 states now allow legalized gambling on sports. It’s projected that by 2025, only 10 states will still have a ban on sports betting.
Not only has sports betting become more popular, it’s also become more diverse. Sports betting is no longer just about betting on winners and losers. Today, sports gamblers can bet on props, individual achievements, winners by half or even quarter, and even on obscure sports like golf, tennis, and even fishing.
Daily fantasy is another fascinating component of sports betting. Many sports books are offering variations of daily fantasy where gamblers can choose small groups of players and compete against other participants in the fantasy pool. Your casino can offer this either online or in-person, creating an exciting experience for visitors to watch the big game.
Additional Restaurants and Bars
Dining and drinks have always been a part of the casino experience. Very often the lure of free drinks or dining coupons was a great incentive to keep someone sitting at a gambling table.
However, food and drinks are much more than just a free giveaway in today’s casinos. They are substantial revenue streams in and of themselves. As gambling has moved out of the shadows and become more mainstream, casinos have become a destination location for couples, friends, and family who want a night out on the town.
In most high-performing casinos there are a mix of dining options to meet all needs. For example, grab-and-go casual restaurants with sandwiches, salads, drinks, and bottled beer can be a great choice for those who want to dine on a budget.
The sports book represents a great opportunity to increase food revenue. Many casinos are turning the sports book into a full-fledged sports bar where visitors can watch the game, follow their bets, and order drinks and traditional bar food like burgers and wings.
A fine dining option is a staple of every casino. A high-end steakhouse or seafood restaurant is a perfect fit in a casino as it attracts those with higher budgets who may want to gamble after dinner. A late night option like a bar or nightclub can also bring more people into your building.
Conventions and Group Outings
Again, the mainstream acceptance of gambling has made casinos a destination for a wide range of outings. While it may not have been true in the past, today casinos are frequent hosts for conventions, professional outings, and much more.
It’s common for casinos to have convention space attached to the casino. You may also want to offer in-house catering and food and drink options for a wide range of events. A full-time event planning staff can help you attract large outings and events.
Consider that a large event could bring hundreds or even thousands of people into your building for one night or even a weekend. That’s increased revenue on food and drink, gambling, services, and much, much more.
Entertainment
Finally, entertainment has been a big part of the casino industry for decades. The shows in Vegas are almost as famous as the gaming itself.
However, entertainment at a casino doesn’t have to be about magic shows and comedians. For many casinos, their concert hall is actually the nicest and biggest indoor concert venue in the area. That’s especially true for casinos that exist in rural areas or smaller cities.
Your entertainment venue could bring in rotating acts just as any other concert venue would. That could bring in a new stream of visitors that normally wouldn’t gamble. They may simply be fans of the act on that particular date. Again, this is a great way to bring hundreds or thousands of people into your building.
Just like every other industry, the gaming industry is changing quickly. Online gaming represents a massive shift for many gaming companies. There could be a time in the very near future where bettors who play online casino represent the large majority of all revenue in the industry.
Casinos that embrace online gaming, new forms of sports betting, and diversified income in the building will be poised for success in the coming years. Casinos should be a full entertainment experience, not just a place to sit at the blackjack table. By being innovative and creative, you can create multiple streams of income for your casino for decades.
