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CASINO & GAMES
RETAIL AND DIGITAL CAN GO HAND IN HAND
BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt dismisses retail cannibalisation fears as“ scaremongering”, arguing that in states where iGaming is legal, it’ s pretty much business as usual. He tells Conor Reynolds why he thinks the threat is being overstated by brick-and-mortar incumbents
T here has been a significant back and forth debate on the impact of iGaming on the retail casino sector in the US and BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt is weighing in on the discussion. Studies that examine whether or not online gambling cannibalises retail casino performance have at times contradicted each other and today some of the US’ front-running iGaming operators are still arguing that online casinos are impacting their retail business.
Last year in Maryland, Live! Casino owner The Cordish Companies testified in front of lawmakers that online gambling would be bad for brick-and-mortar operators, particularly impacting state tax revenues and employment. John Pappas, on behalf of the iDevelopment and Economic Association( iDEA) trade body, argued that Pennsylvania’ s revenue report showed no such negative effect.
Entain and MGM Resorts’ BetMGM JV has been at the forefront of leveraging the latter’ s rich casino guest database and brand presence in Las Vegas. As a combination of Entain’ s online tech stack and MGM’ s longstanding casino expertise, BetMGM is in a unique position to self-examine the topic of cannibalisation.
BetMGM claims to have been the first operator to launch an omnichannel betting wallet in Nevada ahead of last year’ s NFL season, meaning bettors can access their wallet and account seamlessly both online and in a retail sportsbook.
Speaking to analysts during MGM Resorts’ 2024 earnings call in February, CEO Bill Hornbuckle said the development had helped drive a 60 % increase in Nevada-acquired first-time depositors versus the prior NFL season. Clearly, BetMGM is benefiting from extensive efforts to cross-sell.
“ The concerns around retail to digital cannibalisation, we believe, are totally overstated by the retail incumbents”
Adam Greenblatt, BetMGM CEO
20 • ISSUE 138 • iGB L! VE 2025