Las Vegas Sands Powers Off iGaming Experiment
Posted on: October 4, 2025, 04:48h.
Last updated on: October 4, 2025, 04:48h.
Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS) has exited the iGaming space a little over three years after entering it, officially closing its pilot digital venture last week.
Sands Digital Services (SDS) was formed in Carson City, Nev. in March 2022 to stream live dealer content into markets with legalized internet gaming in the US, including New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
However, SDS was shut down before it ever had the chance to compete against established iGaming companies such as Playtech, Stakelogic, Authentic Gaming and Evolution.
In a letter to the 300–400 employees affected by the closure, LVS President and COO Patrick Dumont stated that the project “was no longer aligned with the company’s core long-term objectives.” The letter was published by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which broke the story on Friday, October 3. The newspaper is owned by the Adelson family — including Dr. Miriam Adelson, the majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands and widow of the company’s late founder, Sheldon Adelson.
Change in Direction
Under Sheldon Adelson’s leadership, LVS staunchly opposed entering the online gaming space, citing concerns about its impact on brick-and-mortar casinos.
Following his death in January 2021 at age 87, however, new CEO Robert Goldstein pursued new strategic directions. These included selling The Venetian Resort Las Vegas and Palazzo, along with the Venetian Expo Center, to Apollo Global Management and Vici Properties for $6.25 billion in 2022.
Despite the shutdown, LVS — the world’s largest operator of land-based integrated casino resorts by revenue — stated it would continue to explore digital opportunities that better align with its core business in Macao, where it operates five properties (The Venetian Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao, The Plaza Macao and Sands Macao), and Singapore, where it owns Marina Bay Sands.
“The digital landscape continues to evolve, and technology and innovation will continue to play an important role in our industry,” Dumont wrote in his letter of October 2. “As a company, we will continue to explore and invest in opportunities that are in the best interests of our shareholders.”
According to the R-J, approximately 150 of the 300–400 laid-off workers were based in Las Vegas.
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