Recently the US congress moved H.R.2282 – Internet Gambling Regulation, Enforcement, and Consumer Protection Act to committee, where all the details of the bill will be negotiated by the various committee members. Though some states have already legalized online gaming, a congressional law legalizing all forms of online wagering, throughout the US and its territories, would likely result in heavy competition between gaming outfits for players in those new markets. This could benefit players by way of increased comps from gambling organizations.
The H.R. 2282 bill that has been referred to committee orbits around a stipulation that only a few of the major US gaming companies will be issued licenses for the online casinos, at least for the first few years they are allowed. It would not surprise me, if the current wording is upheld, the companies that will be issued the initial licenses are donors to the political sponsors of the bill. However, some of the more established online gaming companies are lobbying to have the licenses for the online domain to be open to all companies.
If this were to occur, the online gaming companies, as well as land based casinos, would have to compete for players. As competition grows the companies will have to offer better and better incentives for the players to choose their casino over all others. We are already seeing improvements in the comp system for some online casinos. According to the third party mediation site thepogg ; the 888casino comp point program offers 1 comp point for every £10 wagered and converts 100 comp points to £1. This program is slightly better than industry average. 888 also offers’ an £88 no deposit bonus, which is essentially a free roll for the player. An open US market would give a new consumer base in the neighborhood of 100 million people, so it’s reasonable to expect the comp programs offered will improve as companies compete for the new players.
The Total Rewards and M Life programs offered by Caesars and MGM are already linking their online presence with their properties. This means comps earned online are redeemable at their properties in the form of room, food and merchandise. But because online gaming is currently allowed only in three US states: New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware, there is not yet a fierce competition between the online and brick and mortar casinos. When online gambling is available to every person in the US 24 hours a day seven days a week, the competition for players will increase rapidly. A player will be able to play during the year over the Internet and, if they play enough, their room and meals will be comped by the associated casino when they visit a property on holiday.
If a complete legalization of online gaming is passed by the US congress it could entice the strictly online gambling companies to increase their comp benefits to counter the comp benefits that online casinos like MGM and Caesars are able to offer their players; most notably free rooms and meals at their properties. Also, I wouldn’t put it beyond the realm of possibility that online gaming companies will enter into partnerships with casino properties, where the points earned through online play can be redeemed at a players’ local property.
In the past some online gambling organizations have been less than appreciative of their top tier players. Amaya Gaming the parent company Poker Stars recently revoked their most elite player status for their online poker division. In an attempt to increase revenues Amaya sent out notifications to their players stating that changes would be coming to their elite player programs. And one day without warning, the “adjustment” was made. Amaya eliminated the top tier program. To casual players this is of no concern, but to professional poker virtuosos like Melissa Burr the move had serious financial consequences. In a talk with me Melissa stated: “This costs pros between 90,000 and 110,000 dollars a year in rebates.” Ms. Burr was understandably not pleased with the decision and went on a few epic twitter rants to voice her displeasure.
The Nevada Supreme court has previously ruled that a when casino decides to revoke a players comp points before their card has expired, appropriate financial compensation must be given to the player. It is possible that the Poker Stars, in anticipation of the passing of H.R.2282 preempted any regulations that may be put in place that would dictate that online companies must adhere to the Nevada Supreme Court decision. In March 2016 after being heavily criticized by the online gaming community for its top tier rebate elimination, Amaya Chairman and CEO David Baazov took an indefinite leave of absence stemming from allegations of insider trading. Each incident individually could have likely been spun so that Baazov could have retained his position, but the two right on top of each other proved too much for the Board of Directors to digest.
When the US congress finally legalizes online gambling, a competition for players will likely commence. Benefits that a frequent player can expect range from increased comp points leading to free play to higher initial sign up bonuses and better comp scales from their local or vacation casino, but don’t expect these benefits to last too long. Like every other new industry, the overwhelming number of new sites that come into existence will be consolidated or be bought out by larger organizations, similar to the massive internet company consolidations seen in the late 90s and early 2000s.
As the number of companies that control gambling venues, both online and land based, decrease, players can expect player centric benefits to also decrease. The lesson here is when online gambling in the US is finally legalized, the most beneficial approach for the astute player, is to play as often as they can until the comp and rebate programs decline to the point where it is no longer makes financial sense to play.
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