P

Part 1 : Ron Goudsmit on the state of play for casinos today Building an omnichannel future for European casinos

to play table games will only return

step by step , as restrictions slowly

disappear . Once that is the case ,

and people are allowed to be closer

together , then you ’ ll see the table

games coming back .”

Whether this leads to more

innovation around products , he ’ s

not sure . There may be a degree of

experimentation among players , trying

the physical versions of games they

played online , and sports betting could

gain a bigger presence at a time when

the US market is booming .

“ Whether the actual product is

drastically going to change , it ’ s hard to

tell ,” he adds . “ People are looking at

new games all the time , and with slots ,

you get some great new titles . With

table games , you don ’ t see that much in

the way of new products .”

It ’ s in ancillary services that

Goudsmit sees the biggest scope

for change , namely through cashless

technology , something he says “ was

coming anyway ”.

“ Having gone through the Covid

experience people don ’ t want to

touch things , so that accelerated

it . You ’ ll see that more and more in

casinos but also elsewhere .” It ’ s for

this reason that Goudsmit is watching

Resorts World Vegas , the property that

opened on the Strip on 24 June , with

interest . It ’ s announced that it will go

entirely cashless .

Though it may prove a pioneer with

a cashless casino experience , it appears

that Resorts World Vegas may be an

“ What will probably happen is that some customers will come back wanting to play online also , and that is why it ’ s important to have a [ digital ] presence . They learned about online , played it , and now , while they want to come back to you , if you don ’ t have an igaming offering , you can ’ t stay in touch with your customers ”

RON GOUDSMIT

outlier . Companies are unlikely to make

the sort of billion-dollar investments

seen in pre-pandemic days , without at

least some sort of reassurance that there

will be returns .

“ I think you ’ ll see new investments ,

though probably not of the sums

they ’ re talking about in Japan – and

even there they ’ re trying to reduce

budgets ,” Goudsmit says . “ There will

definitely be new projects in Europe ,

also Eastern Europe , and in Asia , but

not for the huge amounts people talked

about previously .”

NEW AUDIENCE , NEW CHANNELS

Instead , that investment may increasingly

be split between the physical property

and its digital counterpart .

“ The whole convergence between the different channels will only increase ,” Goudsmit says . “ The Americans – even at Sands , which of course was impossible in the Adelson days – are a bit more focused on sports betting online , with online casino secondary .

“ Here in Europe , I think the casinos will look more and more at online . Companies are looking to spend their money wisely in order to get the best revenue and find the right balance between investing in the property and to have an igaming presence .

“ I think the combination of the two will only enhance a casino ’ s business and help with customer retention .”

After all , following a year in which online has been the only way for the vast majority of European players to gamble , it ’ s hard for the brick-andmortar sector to ignore online gaming in 2021 .

“ What we have seen , of course , is that more people have gone online because everything was closed , so people have got used to it ,” he explains . “ It ’ s difficult to say at this stage whether it will actually change the demographics of those visiting the casinos .

“ But undeniably , people have been playing online . What will probably happen is that some customers will come back wanting to play online also , and that is why it ’ s important to have a [ digital ] presence .

Building an omnichannel future for European casinos