Does the USA have "household name" casinos like the UK?

Simmo!

Paleo Meister (means really, really old)
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
England
Hi all

Just a quick question that occurred to me while doing some research today (and forgive spelling errors cos my cat is trying to "help" me!). Here in the UK as i'm sure many of you know we have well known sports betting companies like Will Hill and Ladbrokes who have cashed in on the casino games. This helps people like me know you're dealing with someone who should be reputable. Does a similar thing exist in the USA?

Cheers

Simmo
 
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I would say the closest one to a household name here is Golden Palace. Before I was in the industry, that was the only one I knew about, and I knew about it mostly from advertising on the Howard Stern show, which is huge here.
 
Are you talking about the online casino Golden Palace or is there one
land based casino called Golden Palace? Howard Stern is only big if you
are a fan of the radio or if your profession permits you to listen to the
radio while you work. Personally I don't even know what time of day his
radio show is on. Even if I know I wouldn't listen to it because I dislike
his style but I am digressing.

The UK and the US is very different. While the UK is small so it is easy
for any betting companies to open shops in every town. This constributes
to their national presence. It is not so easy in the US. Not only the geography
is much bigger but also government regulations. Basically you can only
open casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic city, Indian reservations or in a few
special towns/places. Even the major banks do not have a national presence
let alone any casinos or betting companies. Most people don't live near
casinos because there aren't that many. You cannot find one even in major
cities because of regulations etc. So it is hard to have a known household
casino. Not even the major banks are known household in every state.
So you can forget about casinos, I would say there is no single casino
that is known in every household. Even if there was, it might not have
online operation because it is not really legal to open online casino.
That is why they are all located in some obscure islands or overseas.
In the UK there is no such problem!

To conclude, I think the original question is rather naive in my opinion.
 
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If you're referring to online gaming, that particular status is up in the air. In fact, there has been talk of passing legislation to target online wagering. Some have concluded that the credit card companies have stopped allowing online casino transactions because of its uncertain status. As a result, few online casinos have made any great effort to establish a brand awareness - the notable exceptions are Golden Palace (which seems to favor a variety of media outlets) and Intercasino (primarily print - especially gaming journals/magazines).

The land casino aspect is even more fragmented. Twenty years ago, when gambling was focused in Atlantic City and Nevada, the larger casino names dominated (Harrahs, Trump, Caesars). Now, with the advent of Indian casinos, brand awareness has become more regionalized (even localized). Ironically, some casinos have attempted to establish some alliances with these Indian casinos (lending their name, for instance, like Harrah's has in San Diego), while being hurt by the selfsame business. Reno, for example, has been decimated by the growth of Indian gaming on the California side of the California/Nevada border.

The result is a fragmented gambling presence. The biggest irony is that although Americans spend a LOT on internet gambling, it may very well become illegal...

As for casinos in general, the nor

Simmo! said:
Hi all

Just a quick question that occurred to me while doing some research today (and forgive spelling errors cos my cat is trying to "help" me!). Here in the UK as i'm sure many of you know we have well known sports betting companies like Will Hill and Ladbrokes who have cashed in on the casino games. This helps people like me know you're dealing with someone who should be reputable. Does a similar thing exist in the USA?

Cheers

Simmo
 
dickens1298 said:
Ironically, some casinos have attempted to establish some alliances with these Indian casinos (lending their name, for instance, like Harrah's has in San Diego

Harrahs lends its name to a casino in North Carolina that must be an embrassment to its brand. Not one table game and its odds are the worst I have ever seen. Most of those machines pay on JOB 5 for flush and 6 or a few 7 for full house. It is the only casino I have ever seen where a full house paid 6-1 in JOB. It's a joke but has a massive geographic monopoly. I guess they get a nice cut and use the players club cards to track and lure higher rollers to casinos which better represent the brand name.
 
Simmo! said:
Hi all

Just a quick question that occurred to me while doing some research today (and forgive spelling errors cos my cat is trying to "help" me!). Here in the UK as i'm sure many of you know we have well known sports betting companies like Will Hill and Ladbrokes who have cashed in on the casino games. This helps people like me know you're dealing with someone who should be reputable. Does a similar thing exist in the USA?

Cheers

Simmo

Hi Simmo,

The reason that you see big names from the UK involved in online casinos (WH, LAsseters, etc.) is because regulation in the UK is different in the US. Also the attitiude of consumers is entirely different since Bookmekers are almost on every block in the major cities. They are "seen" by most everyone. You won't find this in "puritan" America. Americans tend to favor hiding their gambling enterprises on Indian Reservations and in places like Atlantic City and in Nevada. If you have never been to these places (like most Americans never have), you wouldn't have a clue to any house-hold casino name.

A few US landbased casinos have dappled in the online casino market, but mainly due to failed marketing strategies they bailed out. Since they cannot accept US players, and since there is a overt government threat, most of these land based entities won't get involved. As long as the US politicians have their heads up their "fourth point of contact" (old paratrooper expression), you won't see any "household names" like Bellagio, or MGM Grand Casino getting online anytime.

Unfortunately, Golden Palace is the closest thing to a house-hold name since their infamy stems merely from their obnoxious marketing strategies. And it's mostly only the ones who watch sports who have heard of them. Before then they were just another crappy casino.
 
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Interesting. I guess my main point was that Will Hill, Ladbrokes et al are household names for their sports betting more than their casinos, but can use this fact to sell the casinos online. SW2003: i'm sure its a naive question for someone living in a country your size, i don't deny. But there are surely many "Household names" in other markets across the USA, and gambling being such a huge market, i'd presumed there would be something in this market that had as a consequence used its name to enter the Casino game.

Harrods is a great example - one assumes that even though its only one retail outlet in the UK, even a decent amount of USA-based households would recognise the name? And they now have an online casino. A prime example.

Casinomeister: thanks for chipping in and your legal points are probably the most pertinent to my question i guess. As you say, the legal situation there is way different due to the state controls which doesn't affect us. Its interesting though, if i understand you correctly, that laws regarding "online" gambling apply differently in different states. I had seen one casino that said for example, if you lived in Maryland, you weren't allowed to d/l their software. Land casinos i can understand, but policing online must be a nightmare for some jurisdictions out there.

Dickens: is it *really* possible that online gambling could become illegal across the USA in general? That seems extreme and more akin to those countries we refer to as "repressed"...

Regards

Simmo

PS....is "household" itself a common US term?
 
Simmo! said:
...is it *really* possible that online gambling could become illegal across the USA in general? That seems extreme and more akin to those countries we refer to as "repressed"...

...PS....is "household" itself a common US term?


Repressed = The Bush's USA. Where else would find the federal government launching investigations (read $$$ taxpayers dollars) concerning an exposed nipple on live television? Gasp! :eek:

If that is not repressed, what is?

And yes "household" is a household common term in the US.
 
casinomeister said:
Repressed = The Bush's USA. Where else would find the federal government launching investigations (read $$$ taxpayers dollars) concerning an exposed nipple on live television? Gasp!

Gotta admit CM, that made me smile when i heard :rolleyes:

So you think there is potential for all gambling online to be made illegal over there?

cheers

Simmo
 
As Casinomeister may have pointed out, while the UK has an active sports betting environment that isn't necessarily tied to casino gambling, in the U.S. the two ARE tied rather closely for the mainstream public.

Can online gambling become illegal in the US? Of course...anything is possible. And the facts that Yahoo and Google no longer offer ad space to online casinos AND that credit card companies are attempting to curtail their use by online casinos and you get more indicators of where the current is heading among US political circles.

However, the rise in Indian and riverboat casinos have made gambling as popular as ever. And since all online casinos are based outside of the US, the question of regulation would always be an issue. If any legislation IS passed, it may resemble the Prohibition Act - law enforcement would be pursuing providers, not users, and it would be an "open secret" that many still participate in online wagering. As a matter of fact, per the Wire Act, wagers are not allowed to be placed over any telecommunication wire - although this law predates the internet, some have interpreted it to include internet gambling, and few have actively pursued it. Only a couple of states have actually invoked this legislation, and in all cases have pursued the business owners of the casino, not the players themselves.

Players should actually welcome legislation which regulates, not restricts or prohibits, internet gambling. We would certainly have less contentious issues, and I'm sure player/casino disputes would then be resolved quickly by third-party arbitration....

Simmo! said:
Dickens: is it *really* possible that online gambling could become illegal across the USA in general? That seems extreme and more akin to those countries we refer to as "repressed"...

Regards

Simmo

PS....is "household" itself a common US term?
 
I'd totally agree with your "regulation" comments Dickens. It makes a lot of sense and we seem to have a minefield of less-than-white casinos springing up. Over 2000 casinos available on the net as i understand and you wonder how many of these could hold up to their obligations. It amazes me that i see so many players being paid off, even smallish amounts, over a period of time rather than in one hit. Some sort of regulation should be embraced.

The PirateC21 case was a one-off admittedly, but the underlying message did a lot to inform the community of the potential issues and hopefully act as a warning (CM - i can hear you sighing from here ;) )

Good interesting info there too D - many thanks.

Simmo
 
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