Digital Wager Wire highlights the most important events impacting the domestic and international sports betting and gaming industry each week throughout the year.
Tourism Lagging in Vegas
It appears as though tourists are leaving Las Vegas.
Yes, that’s an old movie starring Nicolas Cage, who, by the way, never got paid the $100,000 for his Academy Award-winning performance, but that’s a story for another day. What’s happening right now, or at least in June, is emblematic of the fading tourist industry in Sin City.
Reports show an 11.3% year-over-year decline in tourists to the gambling mecca of the desert, which could have plenty to do with increased competition from land-based casinos springing up nationwide, the advent of the wildly popular mobile sports betting industry in the U.S., or the pricey accommodations that are strangling the average visitor.
Even businesses looked elsewhere for their annual get-togethers, as convention bookings were down 10.7% compared to June 2024.
Last year at the same time, 3.5 million visitors made a pilgrimage to Las Vegas, but this year that number plummeted to 3.1 million. Harry Reid International Airport reports revealed that passenger counts dropped by 6.3% this June as opposed to last June.
A press release from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitor Authority (LVCVA) stated, “Reflecting the broader backdrop of persistent economic uncertainty and weaker consumer confidence, compounded by a slower convention month, the destination saw an 11% YoY (year-over-year) decline in visitation, hosting approximately 3.1M visitors.”
However, there is a glimmer of good news, as the straw that stirs the economic drink in Clark County, of which Las Vegas is part, was actually up slightly.
- Las Vegas Strip – Up 0.88%
- Downtown Las Vegas – Up 10.48%
- North Las Vegas – Up 4.7%
- Laughlin – Up 6.61%
- Boulder Strip – Up 19.32%
- Mesquite – Up 2.44%
- Rest of Clark County – Up 5.41%
But tourism is a critical element to keeping people employed in Las Vegas, and perhaps, come football season, we will see a resurgence of visitors, particularly if hotels heed the call of dropping resort fees and lowering prices on everything from accommodations to food and beverage.
Could Georgia Be Next for Mobile Sports Betting?
One of the staunchest bastions of conservatism may be weakening in terms of its opposition to gambling in the state. Georgia is now considering the possibility of land-based casinos and sports betting as a way to increase its funding and lower the budget deficit in the Peach State.
Georgia is only one of 11 states without any form of sports betting, nor does it have any commercial or tribal casinos. Despite two sports betting bills, House Resolution 450 and House Bill 686, ignored by the legislature last session due to their late arrival in March, the House Study Committee on Gaming in the State of Georgia convened for its first meeting last week, and the discussion focused primarily on casinos.
House Higher Education Committee Chairman Chuck Martin agreed that the bills were proposed late, stating, “It came in late, and I guess people just weren’t there yet.”
Representative Marcus Wiedower said in a statement that “I believe strongly—and Georgians by wide margins agree with me—that this change will not only bring in much-needed revenue to educate our youngest learners but also provide consumer protections that don’t exist in today’s black market.”
According to a study conducted by the University of Georgia and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, a whopping 63% of Georgians supported sports betting. Whether this new committee’s findings or the groundswell of support for sports betting will sway Georgia legislators next session into passing a gaming bill remains to be seen.
But, as they say, times are a changin’.
