European Casinos Must Provide Much More to Survive Post-Covid

In the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic, businesses of all types have struggled to regain lost ground in revenue and customers. Casinos have been no different. Like most other brick-and-mortar establishments, they suffered from long-term closures that wreaked havoc in multiple areas of their operations, forcing some even to close for good.

However, bouncing back from this unprecedented setback is not as simple as just reopening one’s doors and returning to business as usual. If casinos, especially in the UK and Europe, are to survive and thrive post-covid, they must adapt their business model, become a more significant part of the local area, and offer far more than just cards and roulette.

This is the opinion of Simon Thomas, chief executive of the Hippodrome, the UK’s largest casino in Leicester Square. “We have eight bars, restaurants, one of London’s best steak restaurants and Magic Mike,” says Thomas. “In a month, we’re adding a Chinese restaurant and a crepe champagne concept and a secret bar later. It makes it much more fun for staff and customers.”

Thomas believes that providing a much more comprehensive range of entertainment services means casinos can benefit from a broader selection of customers.

In addition, casinos must strive to be a more essential and helpful part of their local area. The Hippodrome, for example, rents its rooms to local charities, lends space to the local police and provides a multifaceted venue for performers.

With the UK gambling industry about to be hit by the government’s imminent white paper (which is setting out its plans to reform the 2005 Gambling Act), this versatility Thomas says will prove even more essential.

Thomas said, “We are requesting and lobbying for some changes to allow more electronic gaming machines – particularly online slots– to give customers what they want,” he says. “It will bring more jobs, more taxation.”

However, what will actually be announced as part of the white paper is still unknown. Thus casinos are still best served by trying to remain as flexible as possible whilst lobbying for their ideas to be heard.

Elsewhere in the world, such as in Asia and the US, this versatile entertainment model is not as favoured, as buildings have the space to be homogenised into huge purpose-built facilities. Indeed, casinos can afford to be just that – casinos. The many rooms of varied gambling games can extend to impressive sizes.

The largest casino in the world, for example – the First World Genting Highlands in Malaysia, has 7,351 rooms and suites. The second and third are both in Las Vegas. These are the Venetian and Palazzo and the MGM Grand.

Flourishing in a post-covid climate, according to Guido Berghmans, general director of Luxembourg-based casino Casino 2000, is not just about offering the casino to the wider urban environment. He says that it is vital to embrace the innovations that digital gaming has had and offer a hybrid of online and land-based gaming previously unavailable before the pandemic.

Indeed, according to Berghmans, land-based casinos should not ignore the popularity of digital gaming and its convenience and variety. Instead, they must offer an omnichannel experience that ties in both elements to appeal to the broadest number of customers.

In Berghmans’ opinion, Casinos would benefit from providing outstanding games on site and extending their products to operate in home environments via digital platforms. He says, “There are some products on the market that are also accepted by the younger clientele and people who play on the internet,” says Berghmans. “We are looking at the slot machine manufacturers because we need more attractive products to survive.”

Whatever the future holds, traditional monolithic casinos, it seems, won’t have a place if they mean to survive. From what these two industry experts have said, the magic formula may lie in offering a multi-service entertainment venue that also offers a hybrid of exciting land-based and online games that can be accessed at home.