Online Gaming Divides Brick-and-Mortar Casinos as Lawmaking Season in Full Swing

Posted on: February 11, 2025, 12:33h. 

Last updated on: February 11, 2025, 03:27h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • Several large gaming companies, including Caesars and MGM, are largely supportive of expanding iGaming options throughout the US
  • Some regional operators are opposed to such efforts, saying iGaming negatively impacts brick-and-mortar play
  • The debate boils down to whether iGaming helps or hurts land-based casinos

Online gaming is being considered in numerous state capitals as the 2025 legislative season is fully underway. Whether authorizing iGaming with interactive slot machines and table games is in a state’s best interest largely remains dependent on who you ask.

online gaming iGaming casino industry
A stock photo shows a man gambling online playing roulette. Online gaming has divided the US brick-and-mortar casino industry. (Image: Shutterstock )

Several of the largest gaming operators in the United States, including MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, Penn Entertainment, and Boyd Gaming, are largely supportive. Light & Wonder, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of physical gaming products like slots and tables, is also bullish on iGaming and has invested significantly in its digital unit.

Other major players, however, oppose online gaming on claims that it leads to lower in-person play and brick-and-mortar gaming win, which subsequently impacts food and beverage, entertainment, and hotel sales. Some firms hostile to iGaming also worry about problem gambling and the lack of consumer safeguards to encourage responsible participation.

The opposition includes Las Vegas Sands, the world’s largest gambling firm by market capitalization. Wynn Resorts is also less eager about iGaming than its primary competitors.

Regional casino operators, namely The Cordish Companies in Maryland and Churchill Downs Incorporated in Kentucky, have lobbied extensively in state capitals against iGaming. Late last year, the Live! and TwinSpires owners united to form the National Association Against iGaming (NAAiG). The Monarch Casino Resort & Spa in Colorado’s Black Hawk was also a founding NAAiG partner.

Does Online Gambling Cost Jobs? 

A new study commissioned by NAAiG conducted by The Innovation Group, a New Orleans-based gaming consultancy, claims to debunk the common myths iGaming proponents claim in urging state lawmakers to authorize remote casino gambling.

Innovation researchers concluded that land-based casinos see an average loss of 16% of their in-person gross gaming revenue (GGR) after iGaming is introduced, which leads to “substantial job losses, hundreds of millions of dollars in lost economic output, and reduced tax contributions that fund public services.”

If Illinois and New York were to legalize iGaming, The Innovation Group forecasts that nearly 10K jobs would be lost by 2029. In-person casino employment would drop by more than 2,800 jobs if Ohio welcomed online casinos, while Louisiana would lose over 2,600 jobs and Mississippi about 1,900 positions. Each of the aforementioned states has an iGaming bill introduced.

iGaming is eroding communities,” opined Shannon McCracken, senior director of government relations at Churchill Downs. “This isn’t just about responsible gaming — it’s about protecting local family-sustaining jobs and preventing financial harm.”

“iGaming’s unchecked access to gambling on cell phones is bad public policy that threatens local jobs and businesses and will cost states. When increased social costs caused by iGaming, like higher rates of underage and problem gambling, are considered, the net tax revenue results are uniformly negative for every state,” added Mark Stewart, the executive vice president and general counsel of The Cordish Companies. 

iGaming Supporters Say it’s Complementary

Despite opposing iGaming, Cordish runs online casinos in Pennsylvania, one of only seven states where internet slots and table games are permitted. Cordish says its hand was forced after Pennsylvania lawmakers expanded gambling to the internet in 2017. Churchill also operates a casino in Pennsylvania — Presque Isle Downs & Casino — but opted to sell its iGaming privileges to bet365.

Cordish and Churchill are in the minority when it comes to concluding that iGaming is bad for brick-and-mortar casinos and the gaming industry in general. During a recent chat with Casino.org, Howard Glaser, one of the top government affairs specialists who works with L&W, estimated that a majority of high school and college-aged kids are already gambling online through unregulated offshore casino websites and/or controversial “sweepstakes” casino platforms that operate in a gray area.

It’s the same question for us,” Glaser said. “We are primarily a land-based company, our numbers will show you this, but as a public company, we answer to our shareholders and investors. We’re for growth. Our conclusion is that [iGaming] is already happening out there illegally, and in markets where iGaming is legal, it’s been complementary [to brick-and-mortar]. They can reinforce each other and spur growth.”

Glaser said Light & Wonder had to face the same question about iGaming and question and analyze the pros and cons. He explained that the Las Vegas gaming giant concluded that online gaming is a net positive.