Late last week American Gaming Association President Bill Miller did something radical about Internet gambling. He discussed it. On a conference call. With reporters. Unprompted. You have to understand that ‘Net betting has been a no-fly zone for the AGA for years, ever since Miller’s predecessor, Geoff Freeman, was chastised by Sheldon Adelson. However, gaming’s present economic calamity means all options are on the table, especially with more Americans turning to the Internet as attendance at physical casinos is either A) impossible or B) a hassle. It’s only legal in six states, if you count poker-only Nevada, but others are looking at it—as is Wall Street.
“Online betting in the U.S. is in the first chapter—maybe even just the foreword—in terms of the growth story,” said Chris Grove, analyst with Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. “There simply aren’t as many opportunities for growth on the retail casino side.” Both Rush Street Gaming and Tilman Fertitta are preparing to go public with their online-gaming operations. “We realized that we have an online gaming business that is worth a lot more than we thought it was worth,” Tilman told the Wall Street Journal and even Tom Reeg is making noises of a similar ilk. Meanwhile, Penn National Gaming‘s Internet-gambling revenue kept going up even after its terrestrial casinos reopened.
It’s a growth economy and the AGA can hardly keep its head in the sand any longer. When the market cap of DraftKings ($12 billion) exceeds that of the two largest casino companies, people are bound to take notice. Miller was careful to avoid any outright endorsement, saying the issue should be “decided on a state-by-state basis.” But who ever thought the AGA would go that far again? Adelson may be the 800-pound gorilla of the AGA but Internet gambling is the elephant in the middle of the room and can no longer be ignored … and Adelson, for all his billions, is only one dues-paying member of the association. The Internet genie is out of the bottle and Miller is to be commended for tacitly acknowledging that fact.
