Gambling Analysts Think Conventional Casinos Will Eventually Join Metaverse

June 8, 2022 World iGaming & Gambling

Shoe companies and credit card brokers are in the metaverse. So are major pro sports leagues and teams. Serie A, the top Italian soccer league, became the first to broadcast a live game there in May.

Avatar fans cheered as real AC Milan players defeated Fiorentina.

A study by blockchain analytics company Chainalysis claimed earlier this year that more than 70 casinos utilizing cryptocurrency operated there, taking in $2.8 billion. By contrast, the state of New Jersey’s regulated online casino market has reported $4.1 billion in revenue since 2013.

“There is that risk that this could be yet another bubble that may burst, but I personally don’t think that it will happen,” Martin Lycka, SVP for American Regulatory Affairs and Responsible Gambling told PlayUSA.

“Because a lot of money has already been invested in the space and it’s backed up by some of the biggest companies in the world.”

So when will the likes of Wynn, or Bally’s jump in?

Will land-based gambling companies eventually take the metaverse plunge?
As recently as the Global Gaming Expo in October, MGM chief executive officer Bill Hornbuckle doubted the adoption of cryptocurrency as casino tender. Money laundering worries and the government oversight it generates are major concerns. And then there’s China, which banned all cryptocurrency transactions in 2021.

“We have a Macau license and, and we know how China feels about crypto. So, off-limits full-stop,” he said.

Then-Wynn CEO Matt Maddox said at G2E that the company didn’t have a crypto or NFT plan necessarily, “because of our regulatory environment, but we’re paying very close attention to it.”