How Are Casinos Trying To Entice Young People?

Casinos have to adapt to capture the youth market to gambling. What is the gambling industry doing to entice young people to casinos?

The casino companies we contacted were reluctant to discuss this in detail, for fear of giving away trade secrets. So we turned to veteran casino-marketing consultant Dennis Conrad.

“Casinos haven’t forgotten that their bread and butter is the 50-year-old-plus crowd, so I wouldn’t call the current recruitment of younger players a crusade. However, as the younger generation gets more casino savvy, casinos will continue to intersect with their world in a number of ways to attract their business.

“These include:

“Social media. The cost effectiveness and reach of social media can’t be denied. And its use is increasing rapidly versus traditional media. Just by using it, casinos are speaking to a predominantly younger potential audience. Casino influencers are also part of this category.

“Games. A decade ago, casinos were looking for a magic-bullet game for young gamblers, one that would solve the supposed issue of casino games being too boring for Gen X and Gen Y. In response to that, the skill-based games that were developed were mostly a flop. But guess what? Casinos have found that young gamblers like roulette, video keno (check out any of the Vegas video poker bars and the young players, and drinkers, there), some of the silly flashy new slot games, and of course the sports books. So I think it wasn’t that casinos didn’t have what young players like in gaming products, they just hadn’t had enough exposure to them to establish their preferences.

“Entertainment. Casinos used to actively avoid entertainment acts that attracted a young crowd, which wasn’t the "right gaming demographic," but now you will see them book acts at opportunity times (e.g. early midweek) that can make up for soft gaming volume with ticket sales, F&B revenue, even room sales. Essentially, this uses the entertainment (hip hop, rap, mixed martial arts, etc.) to give potential young players a taste of the casino they have to pass through to get to the events.

“Holidays and Special Events. Casinos have found that certain holidays, like Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, etc. (I guess anything with a heavy drinking component to it!) will attract younger and older clientele alike.

“Targeted Database Marketing. Casinos don’t have to recreate the wheel to attract a younger audience. They already have sophisticated database marketing tools to capture, segment, and target young customers, same as their elders. Those using these tools wisely and aggressively will surely find the right young fish caught in their nets.”

That about covers it. We'd add that esports, which is hugely popular around the world, is taking a long time to get off the ground in this country and that includes Las Vegas. It's a microcosm of the casino business' conflicted approach toward Gen Z and Gen Y customers: The casinos want their money, but they don't seem to want to put too much effort into appealing to them directly.

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Kevin Lewis May-25-2023

They have a plan, all right

It's just that the plan is mostly passive. All they have to do is wait for the people who remember Vegas as it was to slowly die off. Example: how many people think that the "normal" payout for a blackjack is 6 to 5? I'd bet that a lot of younger visitors would be surprised if you told them that it used to be 3 to 2! Or that parking used to be free! Or that there were no such things as resort fees!

We grizzled old Vegas veterans are outraged and disgusted by all that (and much other) shit, but for the moronennials, it's merely normal. It's as if when the barista at Starbucks handed you your coffee, they also kicked you in the nuts. Someone who became a customer after the nut-kicking days began might not only expect the kick, but feel cheated if they didn't get it.

And you might think that the casino vampires still need to drink the blood of the older generations, but the truth is, younger people have both more money and a greater willingness to blow it than back in our day.

IPA Noah May-25-2023

Kevin is out to lunch

A) let's stop with name calling 
B) no you haven't been paying any attention the last many years younger people have way less money then a generation ago. 
C) is he really saying  "morronennials" are the corporate generation that ruined Las Vegas? Try again Kevin they're your age. Your generation "ruined" Vegas.

Bobq May-25-2023

bobq

I didn't here any generational name calling in Kevin's comment. He was calling out the casinos for taking advantage of younger people that aren't aware of what used to be. yes it's our generation running the casino's but that's because they are rich and can never get enough money. Look at the price of fuel, groceries, clothing (etc..)As long as people keep paying these prices they will continue to rise until they start to price them selves out of the market. It's not a knock on young people other than the fact that they do the stupid things I did when I was their age. They don't realize that older people don't all have dementia, some of them have a thig called wisdo.

O2bnVegas May-25-2023

Open some day cares

In-hotel day care and pet boarding would bring in the younger set (and old ones too for the pets).  They could charge a fortune while depleting the kids' IRAs and other savings. LOL.

Candy

Ray May-25-2023

It's VEGAS

Vegas casino companies don't need to do anything special for the younger crowd. They do it country-wide. In general, gambling is so widespread that the kids have gone to casinos before ever going to Vegas. And the games are worse than wha Vegas is offering, so they are used to the paybacks being offered. The Vegas experience is better than stopping off at a casino in the midwest (or as far as I can tell, other jursidictions). 

The slogan probably should be, "If you like to gamble in Illinois, you'll LOVE it in Vegas".

Bob Nelson May-25-2023

Basic plan…

Seems to be charge more, deliver less.

Doc H May-25-2023

waaa

Daily whine fest from you know who, good grief.

IPA I think is spot on. Lewis needs to look in the mirror as it indeed is his own ilk-generation that is running the show in las vegas in its current form and made it into what he despises so much. The irony is rich. And wasn't it his generation largely that had the judgement to get us a demented clueless eggplant that has trouble forming sentences at the helm? Sad pattern, yes?

Though it does take 2 to dance so as long as demand is there from the populace, it is what it is. Anyone on this forum who had a job to run a business, let me repeat that word, a BUSINESS, would do the same. It ain't about your pleasure, the good ole days, making you content and warm and fuzzy - it's about the biz of making $, keep people returning, and they are doing just that in the current form of Las Vegas. Very successfully I might add.

PK May-26-2023

Club

One of the busy casinos around here kind of on almost made it like a nightclub kind of feel to your drinking playing blackjack listening to music

Luke Conerly Jun-12-2023

Huh?

I tried reading your comment, Patrick. Maybe some punctuation next time and a little proofreading next time will help?

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