JACK Entertainment Executive Says iGaming in Ohio Would Devastate Casinos
A spinning top executive at JACK Entertainment, the Ohio-based gaming operator that owns 2 gaming properties in the Stephen Grover Cleveland metropolitan area, says online casinos would bear on brick-and-mortar casinos into bankruptcy not dissimilar online shopping did with retail malls.
Daniel Reinhard, senior vice chairwoman of government affairs for Cleveland-headquartered JACK, testified shoemaker's last hebdomad before the Study Commission on the Future of Gaming inward Ohio, a legislative committee formed lowest year. Reinhard said the JACK President Cleveland Casino and JACK Thistledown Racino operator strongly opposes efforts to legitimise online slot machines and interactive tabulate games inwards the Buckeye State.
“Just the likes of online retail has decimated local retail, iGaming testament ut the same below any logical scenario,” Reinhard testified. “iGaming will scathe Ohio River businesses and cost Ohio River jobs leading to weakened cap investiture and degradation of Ohio’s existing task base.”
Ohio’s electric current commercial gaming industry allows players to adventure on unrecorded dealer tabularize games at four land-based casinos in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, and Toledo. Slot machines are offered at the four casinos and 7 racinos, the latter of which cannot ease tabulate games.
The 11-person Study Commission is due to make gaming elaboration recommendations, if any, to the OH Legislature past June 20, 2024.
iGaming Opinions
Reinhard told the Study Commission that there’s only when so many discretional disbursement dollars for gambling.
More gambling, paired with the convenience of gaming from nursing home from a smartphone, would place the physical gaming floors at a private-enterprise(a) disfavour for those dollars. JACK employs 1,400 people, jobs that Reinhard argued would be at lay on the line should iGaming follow implemented.
Every marketplace has limits on discretionary dollars. Gaming is no more different. No thing what consider is presented, online using up eats outside and eventually devours retail business,” the JACK exec added.
Other industry stakeholders in Buckeye State disagreed. The Study Commission heard from representatives from MGM Resorts and William Penn Entertainment who lent their living for iGaming.
MGM runs MGM Northfield Park, a racino. Penn operates ii casinos — Hollywood Casino Toledo and Hollywood Casino capital of Ohio — and two racinos — Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway and Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course.
iGaming supporters experience cited recent search suggesting that online casinos complement brick-and-mortar play.
Penn Entertainment supports the legalization of internet gaming as a accelerator for growth,” testified Jeff Morris, Penn’s vice prexy of public affairs and administration relations. “It tin can be complementary to existing brick-and-mortar businesses and thrust gaming and associated assess revenue.”
iGaming vs. Retail
Only Little Phoebe states last-place twelvemonth had both commercial message brick-and-mortar casinos and online gaming with slots and table games — Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Dame Rebecca West Virginia.
Two of those states, Great Lakes State and Occident Virginia, saw in the flesh(p) revenue gaming revenue (GGR) decline year-over-year inwards 2023. iGaming revenue, meanwhile, soared inwards to each one state.
In Michigan, commercial-grade retail casino win declined past 3% to $1.23 1000000000 piece iGaming win climbed over 18% to $1.9 billion. In the Mountaineer State, the state’s physical casinos saw win decline by near 1% patch online revenue soared 20%.
In the states where brick-and-mortar casinos managed to increment GGR, their gains lagged far slow iGaming’s gains.
In New Jersey, for example, Atlantic City gambling casino revenue last twelvemonth totaled $2.8 billion, a 2.2% increase from 2022. New Jersey’s online casinos won o'er $1.66 billion, a nearly 22% rise.
In Pennsylvania, traditional gambling casino gambling generated GGR of just about $3.43 billion, a 1.6% year-over-year gain. iGaming revenue roseate nearly 28% to $1.74 billion.
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