AlixPartners, the New York based research company conducted a recent study and found that Internet gambling does not hurt, it helps, land casino business.  This research is resulting in broad data-mining of responses from a current AlixPartners consumer gaming survey that found what the company is calling “Online Enthusiasts,” which are explained to be online gamblers along with being land based casino gamblers that also visit brick-and-mortar casinos almost as much as “consistent members.  This study is also revealing that the most common dollar amount that a player is worth to a casino can be equal to or 10 percent higher for online gamblers than for the ones that mostly go to land based casinos.

Typically, the online gaming customer has a general gaming budget daily that is 30 percent higher than land based gamblers and is the kind of customer with the next-highest average daily budget for gaming.  John Bonno the director at AlixPartners and a member of the firm’s Gaming Practice division is reported to have said that this study is suggesting that Online Enthusiast segment has the ability that the brick-and-mortar casinos should not take for granted.  It has a consumer gaming budge that is higher, along with higher theoretical and casino visits that happen more often.  He goes on to say this study is also suggesting that casinos that can incorporate online gaming activities to their customers gaming visits via loyalty points or other means will be able to achieve an advantage that is competitive.

The managing director at AlixPartners and the leader of the firm’s Gaming Practice, Mike Sinoway is reported to have said that they have gone over in depth multiple variables and attributes that give definition to the unique customer segments and have found that among other things, that gaming companies should view online gaming as an opportunity.  The surveyed group of 1,031 adult Americans, was taken from a general representation of the U.S. population and were chosen from people that expressed a general interest in gaming.  The study examined several forms of gaming that include lotteries, sports books, race-track, local casinos, sports books, online gambling and destination casinos.