by Margaret Oliveira, News Staff Writer

August 21, 2009

During this global recession, land-based casinos are hurting, especially in the United States, which is seeing its worst economy since the Great Depression. Las Vegas casinos are losing their shirts, with casino gambling in July falling 17% and still declining. With the economy unstable, people are traveling less, and thus fewer are visiting Las Vegas, and are being more frugal with their money. In contrast, online casinos have seen an increase in gambling for the first time in a while. For instance, PokerSiteScout.com reported that there has been an overall 2% rise in the number of real-cash players at online casinos last week. While it is a small sample, any uptick is encouraging considering the sorry state of the market.

One way that online casinos are attracting more players is by increasing the number of promotions and bonuses. Gambling at an online casino is already cheaper than visiting a land-based casino due to avoiding the cost of travel, dining and a hotel stay. Online casinos are also offering incentives in the form of free tournaments and cash bonuses. In addition, online casinos are ramping up their release of new games in order to attract customers who want to try something new.

In this economy, anyone who wants to stay in business needs to pull out all of the stops. Attracting new customers and keeping current customers is more difficult than ever, thanks to a global recession and, in particular, an American economy that continues to rapidly lose jobs and have homes foreclosed while the national debt skyrockets. A recent study by the Fed estimated that it would be a decade before the country faces any significant job growth. If online casinos want to continue doing business with American customers, they need to make it worth their while with incentive programs. Even Las Vegas is taking note, with many dropping hotel costs and offering bonuses of their own.

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