Vegas Inc – Saturation has arrived in the gaming industry and except for a few outposts — namely the state of Texas — there aren’t many places in the United States where a player can’t drive three hours or less to get to a casino, a panel of gaming industry executives concluded in a wide-ranging panel on industry issues.
“New England is saturated,” said Penn National Gaming President Tim Wilmott. “The market is crowded in Ohio. It’s a little underserved in Florida.”
So what does that mean for companies in the business? Panelists said it means growth will occur by acquisition and mergers and possibly diversification into the online world.
Even international markets are getting crowded, with Southeast Asia still the best option for new venues. Wilmott said Japan and South Korea have casinos in their future.
The CEOs agreed that Europe is already home to a mature casino industry and that Mexico and South America could be new frontiers.
But the saturation of the industry has resulted in more longing looks at the online industry, even though it comes with a host of other issues.
