Data from study reveals 83.9% of Millennials and 80.5% of Gen Z weigh factors such as restaurants/bars, live entertainment and hotel amenities when choosing a casino to visit

LaneTerralever, a full-service marketing and customer experience agency with a division focused on casino, hospitality and entertainment destination brands, today released its new study, 2024 Casino Player Trends Report: How Non-Gaming Activities Are Transforming Casinos. The study, conducted in partnership with Anthony F Lucas, professor at UNLV’s College of Hospitality, measured the opinions of respondents aged 21 to 75 on various non-gaming offerings of both local and destination casinos and how they impact their loyalty to the properties they choose.

Non-Gaming Most Vital to Millennials/Gen Z and Still Important to Boomers/Gen X

Notably, 83.9% of Millennials and 80.5% of Gen Z indicated non-gaming activities such as restaurants and bars, live entertainment, hotel amenities, etc significantly impacted their decision-making process when choosing a local casino. While still significant, those numbers were smaller for older demographics including 65.3% of Boomers and 76.1% of Gen X reporting non-gaming offerings had a significant impact.

All Generations Budgeting Time and Money for Non-Gaming

Across all generations, it was found that ~20% of their time is spent doing something other than playing with non-gaming activities, something they specifically budgeted for – Millennials lead that group at 68%. Restaurants/bars were the top non-gaming activity mentioned for local casinos at 40.9%, followed by live entertainment at 23.2% and hotel amenities at 16%.

Visiting with Groups has Become Increasingly Important

The ‘group visit’ to casinos is seen as increasingly important, especially among younger market segments, with 80% of people visiting local casinos in groups and 87% of destination casino visitors doing the same. Notably, 70% of casino-goers say non-gaming offerings are more important when they visit with family and friends.

“Our study underscores the prevalence of the experience economy and how important it is for casino operators to continue to hone and expand their experiential and entertainment-focused offerings, particularly to attract the attention of younger generations and maintain long-term loyalty of all players,” the Marketing Vice-President for LaneTerralever, Nick Dan-Bergman, said.

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Additional Noteworthy Findings:

Affluent Players are a Unique Segment, Value Non-Gaming Activities

Affluent visitors will likely spend 50% of their time on non-gaming activities during a single trip to a destination casino, meaning they prioritize non-gaming offerings more than the average player. They consider live entertainment most important with 27.2% of affluent players ranking it as their top non-gaming offering compared to 20% of non-affluent.

Hard Rock Leading Competition Among Non-Gaming Offerings

When asked which destination casino brand has the best non-gaming offerings, 21.1% chose Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. MGM Resorts International, at 20.1%, was a close second, followed by Caesars Entertainment at 13.8%.

Non-gaming and Customer Experience Offer Opportunity to Build Deeper Relationship with Players

When it comes to fostering loyalty among players, non-gaming offerings once again ranked prominently among younger demographics with 69.3% of Millennials and 65.7% of Gen Z saying non-gaming features have at least some impact on their loyalty to local casinos. In comparison, just 56.9% of Boomers and 61.3% of Gen X scored this as important. In addition, customer experience was identified as a top way to build loyalty with 89% of casino-goers saying good customer experience can lead them to choose a smaller casino over a larger brand.

Opportunities to Entice Online Bettors to Visit In-Person

Gauging the prevalence of online versus in-person wagering within the context of age groups, 73% of Gen Z and Millennials indicated they’ve placed a bet online. When the topic turned to in-person wagers, the responses effectively flipped, with 79% of Boomers stating they’ve placed a bet at a brick-and-mortar establishment; a significantly higher proportion than Gen Z and Millennials

Webinar Presenting Key Research Findings

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The authors of the research are hosting a webinar in partnership with Tribal Gaming and Hospitality Magazine on Tuesday, February 13 at 10am PST. They’ll present the highlights of their findings and host a panel discussion; register to attend here.

To download the full 2024 Casino Player Trends Report, visit LaneTerralever .com.