For those that like to gamble and smoke, a smoking ban is more than an inconvenience. These patrons often just go home and smoke, and with online gambling, they can gamble and smoke right from their living room.
Anti-smoking laws are not just being implemented in the United States. France implemented a smoking ban last year and evidence is already in that their land-based casinos are feeling the impact.
"There are multiple factors that have directly and indirectly caused the French casinos to face losses in revenue during 2008. First, the smoking ban that became effective on Jan 1, 2008, has radically changed the habits of players. Players were used to smoking and drinking while playing. Instead of quitting smoking, players have preferred to neglect the casino properties. They now play at home on the Internet, where they can smoke while gambling." 1
US casinos have also seen revenues decline after imposition of smoking bans. Tom Swoik of the Illinois Casino Gaming Associate reports that in the first year after the statewide smoking ban that became effective January 1st of last year, Illinois casinos had a nearly 21% reduction in revenue. Although the economy can explain part of the decline, the smoking ban is implicated as the major cause, due to the comparison with casino revenue in Indiana, which has a similar economy, but with no smoking ban. Swoik added that the two states that have been hurt the most are Illinois and Colorado, as both had smoking bans that were implemented.
"'When you compare the Chicagoland market with the Northern Indiana market,' Swoik said, 'the Chicagoland market in Illinois is down 21.8 percent, and Indiana’s down 4.7 percent. They have the same economy and the same weather that we have. In the St. Louis market, Illinois is down 20.3 percent, Missouri’s down 9.9 percent.'" 2
If you have a land-based casino, the lessons already learned are clear. You need to work to ensure no smoking ban is enacted that impacts your property. Moving proactively to create smoke-free gaming and dining areas might be advisable. If your location is in a warm weather location, creating outdoor venues for gaming and dining may actually increase business while staving off anti-smoking laws.
If you are an online casino, exploration of exploiting these laws in your marketing efforts should be undertaken. If your customer demographic has a substantial amount of smokers, highlight the convenience of gaming and smoking without the hassle of "designated smoking areas." As part of the frequent player program, cigarettes, cigars and other smoking paraphernalia could be included as redeemable items or as incentive gifts for new players.
The most bold approach would be for online casinos to actively support anti-smoking efforts that included casino properties for the express purpose of driving customers to the online sites.
Citations:
[1] Verbiest, T. & Pelletier P. (2009, Winter), Rien Ne Va Plus In The French Casino, Casino Lawyer, 26.
[2] Ortbals, A. (2009, February), Cities, state, schools socked by smoking ban impact on casino revenues, Illinois Business Journal, Retrieved February 7, 2009, from: http://www.ibjonline.com/
References:
Black, P. (2009, January 31), onlinecasinosphere.com, Retrieved February 7, 2009, from:
http://www.onlinecasinosphere.com/news/reports/world-casinos/future-of-online-gambling-5396.php
Ortbals, A. (2009, February), Cities, state, schools socked by smoking ban impact on casino revenues, Illinois Business Journal, Retrieved February 7, 2009, from: http://www.ibjonline.com/
Pakko, M. (2008, January), Clearing the Haze? New Evidence on the Economic Impact of Smoking Bans, The Regional Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Retrieved February 7, 2009, from: http://stlouisfed.org/publications/re/2008/a/pages/smoking-ban.html
Verbiest, T. & Pelletier P. (2009, Winter), Rien Ne Va Plus In The French Casino, Casino Lawyer, 26-27.
No comments:
Post a Comment