Tribal-owned Casinos Still Suffering Post-Recession
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010Durign the recession, many industries suffered. With unemployment rates high and spending low, markets were at a loss for revenue and had to fall back on cutbacks, layoffs and restructuring to survive. It’s no secret that the gambling industry was one of the hardest hit. The reality is tha though wagering is fun, it isn’t a necessity. when people were left with drastically smaller incomes, they had no choice but to cut out discretionary spending from their budgets. That of course included gambling fun.
Not only did gambling suffer, but areas that relied heavily on tourist income also suffered. Las Vegas, a city that mostly relies on gambling for its revenue, is still trying to recover. The foreclosure rate in the city was at 60% at its highest and that is a huge number for one singular city. Now that the recession is over, many cities are still in turmoil and so are many casinos. Indian-owned casinos are feeling the pinch too. Many Indian-owned casinos are having additional problems with economic recovery now that the rise of the internet is continuing to grow. Internet gambling is taking away from their markets and that means that millions of dollars is no longer flowing into their doors.
In a lot of ways, Indian-owned casinos are akin to Las Vegas. Both built their economies on the field of gambling– almost solely. There is a huge danger with that. Even cities like Detroit, Michigan know how precarious a move that is. Detroit was a manufacturing hub of the states and when the recession caused many in the industry to close down, it left the city a barren wasteland. Detroit is filled with foreclosed houses and empty warehouses and buildings. The same can be said for Las Vegas and Indian-owned casinos. Both are in danger of losing even more of their revenue in coming months. The recovery from the recession and market shifts is proving to be a difficult one for both entities to manage. Only time will tell whether or not the Indian-owned casinos and Las Vegas are truly able to recover or if their markets are changed for the long run. It will take time and both may have to come up with a new business model for future success in the market of gambling.

