With the Blackpool region coming into the spotlight as the scene of what appears to be a classic case of the harsher side of capitalism, the carnage witnessed as a result of the online gambling industry seemingly replacing traditional casinos could perhaps quite realistically be associated with the online casinos blamed.
It’s interesting to note some of the details of what’s going on, with the current number of gambling businesses down from 75 to 55 since 2010, as per the data supplied by the Office for National Statistics. 25 shut-downs is no joke, but if the members of the casino owners association (or whatever it would be referred to as) would claim shock at what’s going on then they’d have clearly failed to plan properly. They HAVE NOT failed to plan properly though as there is somewhat of a natural progression witnessed in the evolution of the traditional casino establishment. It would be interesting to note how many of the physical casinos shutting down are in fact getting on board the digital revolution that has actually been going on for decades now, evolving into online platforms themselves.
It only makes sense that online gambling would be identified as the cause for casino closures in the UK, but I’m personally quite surprised that there aren’t more closures than the ones recorded. I would have expected a whole lot more, with these closures though probably only affecting those traditional gambling establishments whose developmental trajectories are immune to the effects of time. It wouldn’t take all that much except for a very affordable budget they definitely have to work with, to commission an online gambling platform for an existing gambling brand for example.
Furthermore, established names in the casino industry can probably take the credibility they enjoy and put it online should they choose to migrate to the digital space, this even after that specific casino might have already suffered the effects of its physical version having shut down.
Make no mistake about it though – it’s not like you can just deploy an out-the-box solution in order to erect an online gambling establishment. It takes an army of programmers, developers, system analysts, project managers, etc to just ensure the smooth operation of even the most basic of online casinos, not to mention the security which is required. It doesn’t even end there though – you would need an operation licence which is aimed explicitly at the operation of an online casino, a process which is fraught with some fire-ringed hoops to have to jump through.
Ultimately though I just think there’s a natural re-balancing of things. A new ratio of traditional-to-online casinos is being established to fall more in line with the demand. I personally find it convenient to place bets online, but every now and then I like to visit a traditional casino and enjoy the entire range of other entertainment they have on offer, in addition to the gambling of course.
For the consumer this can only be great news because it means that you can sit in Blackpool for example and compare casinos you might like to take your chance on, except you have pretty much the entire globe to choose from, taking your pick from the very best that the online betting world has to offer.