While speaking at a panel held at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States’ (NCLGS) recent winter meeting in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming Senior Vice President Blake Rampmaier said that the company is looking to expand its iGaming presence in Pennsylvania, and that its brick-and-mortar business hasn’t been affected by that expansion.
Rampmaier maintained that the “customers that are playing online are still coming to our Pennsylvania property in full force.” He added that if anything, Boyd views its iGaming arm as “an additional revenue stream.”
However, when asked about the possibility of expanding legal iGaming in Nevada, Rampmaier was much more hesitant, saying that the state was “an anomaly.”
iGaming is currently legal in just six states—Michigan, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Jersey and West Virginia. Nevada has only allowed online poker since 2013, and Caesars’ World Series of Poker brand is currently the only game in town.
Notably, Nevada did not send any delegates to the conference, even though it is a member of the organization.
Several regional operators in the state have previously come out in opposition to widespread iGaming, for fear of losing ground against their larger, more powerful counterparts. Boyd CEO Keith Smith has estimated in the past that it may take eight to 10 years for the state to change its mind.
During a separate discussion at the same conference, gaming supplier Light & Wonder’s Global Head of Government Affairs Howard Glaser said that iGaming legislation is likely to be brought forth in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and New York in the not-too-distant future.
Glaser also noted that iGaming momentum is also gaining steam in Ohio, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana and Maryland.
Light & Wonder also commissioned a much-publicized iGaming study back in August, which posited that the industry could reap annual revenues of over $30 billion if legalized in all 42 states that currently offer either brick-and-mortar casinos or mobile sports betting.
Per data from the American Gaming Association, iGaming revenues reached $3.6 billion through September of this year, which is an increase of 38 percent from 2021.
