Six years after they were permitted in casinos outside Nevada, retail sportsbooks have increasingly shifted from an exciting new opportunity for brick-and-mortar casinos to a low-margin amenity, a panel of industry executives said Monday.
Retail sportsbooks were considered a novel way to attract customers to brick-and-mortar casinos in the wake of the May 2018 Supreme Court decision that struck down the federal sports wagering ban. But with few exceptions, these books are now being viewed as a way to attract customers to more lucrative casino games and food-and-drink offerings and less as a potential standalone revenue generator.
“There is less need for the sportsbook and more need for distribution,” said Caesars Digital SVP Dan Shapiro during a panel at the Global Gaming Expo conference in Las Vegas, Nevada on Monday.
