Posted on: December 12, 2024, 10:05h.
Last updated on: December 12, 2024, 10:05h.
The Cordish Companies was the odd man out regarding support for iGaming during a hearing this week in the Louisiana State Senate in Baton Rouge.
The National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (NCLGS) is in Louisiana this week for its 2024 Winter Meeting at the newly opened Caesars New Orleans. With major gaming industry stakeholders and state lawmakers from across the country in the Bayou State, the Louisiana State Senate Judiciary B and Revenue and Fiscal committees held a joint hearing to discuss whether the state should join seven others in authorizing online casino gambling.
The Dec. 11 hearing welcomed representatives from several current brick-and-mortar and riverboat casinos. Most were in support of iGaming, saying a digital component complements in-person play and brings a new demographic of gamblers to the industry.
Reps from Boyd Gaming, Caesars Entertainment, and Light & Wonder told the committee that iGaming is predominantly “additive,” but Cordish, which hasn’t yet taken its first bet in Louisiana, spoke out in opposition.
Cordish Challenge
Cordish is putting the final touches on its $270M Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana. The former Diamond Jacks riverboat in Bossier City is slated to open in the first quarter of 2025.
Despite conducting online casino games in Pennsylvania where the firm operates Live! Casino & Hotel Philadelphia and Live! Casino Pittsburgh, Cordish reps told Louisiana lawmakers that iGaming is a “bad bet.” Mark Stewart, Cordish’s general counsel, and John Chaszar, the general manager of Live! Louisiana, argued that online casino gambling cannibalizes play from retail casinos and poses heightened problem gambling concerns. It also risks jobs, they claimed.
iGaming means less foot traffic to casinos. Less foot traffic means less revenue. Less revenue means less reinvestment. Why are we going to put our dollars into businesses that less people are coming to?” asked Stewart.
“The worst part of my job is to lay off an employee,” added Chaszar. “I’ve let them down. [iGaming] decreases revenue at brick-and-mortar casinos. That puts me in a very, very bad position.”
iGaming Counterargument
Along with Caesars and Boyd, the joint committee heard pro-iGaming testimony from trade groups and alliances working across the country to bring online casinos to additional states.
They included the Sports Betting Alliance, whose members are DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and Fanatics. The iDevelopment Economic Association (iDEA) also provided testimony. iDEA members include Bally’s, bet365, Boyd Interactive, BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, and Light & Wonder.
Brandt Iden, VP of government affairs for Fanatics and repping the Sports Betting Alliance, spoke glowingly about how iGaming has exceeded pre-market projections and has only helped commercial casinos in Detroit and tribal resorts across the state.
John Pappas of iDEA, who was formerly the head of the Poker Players Alliance, a lobbying group that campaigned for legal online poker, took issue with Cordish’s seemingly contradictory position.
I thought that the Cordish point of view was interesting when you recognize that they are also an online casino operator in other jurisdictions. I’m looking on my phone at Cordish’s advertisements in Pennsylvania. It says, ‘Stay entertained 24/7 with Play Live! Online Casino. Discover the hottest online games, interactive table games, and bigger jackpots. Play Online Live! Casino with the hottest action in the palm of your hand,’” said Pappas.
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