How the London Casino Industry is Responding to Growing Online Competition
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Land-based casino establishments have a long history of success, particularly in London, the capital of the UK and the heart of gambling in the region. But the question remains, are we seeing a massive paradigm shift in where the majority of the gambling crowd is headed and what does this mean for the industry as a whole?
To arrive at an answer, we’ll be comparing the land-based slots and casino experience against the one you can get online to see if there are any substantial differences that would sway the argument towards either one side or the other.
Ah, the dreaded pandemic and its social gathering restrictions that are now a distant, yet still lingering memory. To look at some concrete numbers, the European Casino Association states that, in Europe, the land-based casinos remained shut for an average of 150 days in 2021. Clearly, those who love slots and gambling were forced to look at other alternatives, and what better way to get in on some of the action than looking at what the online plate has to offer?
But is the online environment a mere replacement or could we say it’s perhaps even an upgrade to the traditional land-based experience? Let’s see how the two compare.
To understand the appeal of online slots, let’s look at the key factors behind their popularity:
When visiting a land-based casino in London, you’re pretty much limited to whatever slot games they have on display. Online, on the other hand, thousands of slot titles await from the industry’s most well-recognized developers, including Novomatic’s famous book of ra deluxe. Take your pick from various sub-genres such as 3-reel slots, 5-reel slots, thematically-inspired slots, and more.
As fun as it can be to see the casino atmosphere in person, the commuting part may take away from the experience, especially if the nearest land-based casino in London is kilometers away from your current location and there is, for instance, a snowstorm raging outside. Online slots, on the other hand, require much less effort on your end to play a couple of rounds – as long as you have a smartphone with one of the modern browsers installed, that’s all you really need to get started.
Although neither online nor offline casinos are strangers to giving out loyalty rewards to their most dedicated players, you will typically find the rewards are better in the online space. Think exact-match deposit bonuses, free spins, cashback, and more.
Compared to their land-based counterparts, online casinos have a higher RTP. This means that, on an average playing session, your chosen slot machine will pay out anywhere from 94% to 98% of what you put in, whereas the numbers typically range anywhere from 85% to 90% in a land-based setting. In this category, the verdict is clear!
Land-based casinos have their own set of charms, including:
No matter how you put it, there is something magical about land-based casinos. The cheers you hear when someone wins big, the flickering lights, the sound of the coins jingling… none of that can truly be replaced by a digital counterpart.
Most casino-goers tend to augment their experience with other forms of entertainment that are usually at arm’s reach. Whether it’s in the same building or somewhere in the vicinity, when visiting a traditional casino, it’s easy to combine the trip with bars, restaurants, shopping, or whatever tickles your fancy.
The slot machines that you find at a typical land-based casino in London tend to be capped at £2 (for the maximum bet allowed per round, that is). For those who are just getting started, this can be a good thing, since it’s harder to get carried away with increasing your bet sizes if there’s a hard cap on it. For others, however, this can also be seen as a downside.
If you’ve ever been to London’s Leicester Square, you know how busy the touristy part of the city can get. According to Simon Thomas, Hippodrome Casino’s chief executive, the establishment welcomes more than 30000 visitors on a weekly basis.
What’s worth noting is that the establishment plays a role that goes beyond providing typical slot game and casino entertainment. It’s where several conferences, meetups, and parties are taking place, so the establishment plays an active role in the local community. And those who are looking for wholesome entertainment will find plenty of clubs and restaurants nearby.
Another great aspect of Hippodrome Casino is that it provides several employment opportunities that benefit the local economy.
Leicester Square – the home of Hippodrome Casino.
At the end of the day, the online and offline casino crowds are not exclusive by any means and there’s plenty of overlap. It could be, for instance, that a brick & mortar casino regular would normally visit one of the local establishments in London, but their schedule doesn’t really allow for a lengthy commute on that particular day. An online slots session can quench some of that thirst.
Another example would be a slot machine enthusiast who has already visited all the local casino spots in London, but isn’t quite satisfied with the variety. In this case, checking out the online offerings is the next likely destination on that person’s radar.
And finally, for our last example, we have the type of player who places the value of socializing above anything else. Online slots may be the go-to choice for a typical player, but if that’s the one thing that tips the scale, land-based casinos clearly come out as the winning choice, even if they otherwise wouldn’t be for most people.
At the end of the day, it comes down to having more than one option available. Optionality had certainly come in handy when the lockdowns were in full swing, and slots of online variety turned out as the champions of the day. Even so, land-based establishments in London are certainly not going away, although there has been a rise in popularity in recent years when it comes to online slots.
The final conclusion is that having the option to choose means more power to you. The fact that online slots are more popular right now in London is simply a trend – you get to pick whatever you like at any given time. May your spins be lucky indeed!
