Online Casinos Lower Spending in Las Vegas

The rise of online casinos was predicted to lower the turnover at land based casinos. This was one of the reasons for the pressure that Las Vegas based casinos applied on the Bush administration in order to get the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) passed back in 2006.

The UIGEA has pushed many online casino operators to close their US offices and stop accepting US players. While other companies moved their operations offshore and continued accepting US players in defiance of US Federal laws.

These offshore operators have been slowly chewing away at the proceeds of Las Vegas casinos and have forced many individual US states consider state-based legislation to allow some online gambling to residents of their states in an effort to keep US money within the US economy and not have it pour out to foreign operators.

The latest study of the matter is sure to be used as a catalyst by pro online gaming lobbyist in their battle to approve intrastate gambling within various US states.

The study conducted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority that is responsible for promoting tourism in Las Vegas. The study showed that the average spent on gambling in 2010 by 80% of tourists dropped by $16 from $482 in 2009 to $466 in 2010.

Another interesting finding was that visitors to the city spend less time playing in the casinos, down to less than 3.2 hours per day in 2010 compared with 3.2 hours back in 2009, and when they play games such as blackjack, slots and craps they wager lower amounts.

While gambling revenues are down the overall spent by tourists is on the rise with them spending their money on better hotel rooms, shopping, shows and sightseeing, refreshments and lavish means of transport.

The conclusion seems to be that while online casinos provide an experience that is gambling-focused, Las Vegas offers many attractions and distractions that draw tourists away from the casino tables.