Millennials are a huge cohort, so you have to expect some trial and error with casinos both before and after Covid-19, says Cory Morowitz.

Again, don’t expect riches. “Since 80 percent of gaming revenue is typically driven by 20 percent of customers, I do not think this cohort is a significant driver of gaming revenue at this time,” he says.

But if they have some money to spend, millennials would rather spend it on food and beverage, clubs, and rooms in destination markets, Morowitz says. “They spend about 25 percent less as a cohort than both Generation X—the generation preceding millennials—and baby boomers on entertainment purchases (per U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).”

Millennials’ interest in online sports betting, particularly among males, is fueled in part by esports betting. “They will also bet at brick-and-mortar casinos, but to a much lesser extent than their online activities,” Morowitz says. “The convergence of esports, iGaming and sports betting has spurred significant product innovation in the gaming industry, for both online and at brick-and-mortar casinos. Many of the innovations around sports lounges and skill gaming in casinos as well as online platforms are geared to this cohort.”

Gaming aside, millennials want to party. Or at least eat at a nice restaurant.

“They are very much driven to the nightclubs, day clubs, pools and similar entertainment-oriented amenities,” says Morowitz. “You see this more in destination markets than in local markets, where casinos are still very much geared to an older demographic and where local casinos are typically rejected by millennials.”

Upward Spiral

Stockton University in New Jersey last released a study on millennial habits in casinos in 2016. “While the data is now five years old, and the events of recent months have introduced many as yet unknown variables, we should expect some of these identified trends to have persisted to the present day,” says Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT) at Stockton University School of Business.

Indeed, the study confirmed what experts and casino operators say today:

Slots were less popular with millennials, millennials preferred to play with friends than alone,  they would rather spend time and money in nightclubs and bars than in a casino.

There is some suspicion that the rapid expansion of online gambling during lockdown has brought new customers into the market, many of them likely younger individuals new to gambling (i.e., millennials). Atlantic City’s casino operators have committed to diversifying their gaming and resort products, and by doing so have brought in new entertainment, nightlife and food and beverage outlets aimed at the millennial consumer.

When you take into account the thousands of real-money casino apps available in 2020, the choice between leaving the house or heading to the local casino probably speaks for itself. Many of the games found in land-based casinos are games based entirely on chance. Slot machines, roulette and blackjack might sound like easy and appealing games to play for someone in, say, their 40s, but a big proportion of those under that age are more used to playing games based on strategy and skill.

The millennial generation is the first to have grown up with video games, so their way of life has become one of the reasons for developing online gambling. To attract and retain the attention of young players and avoid their games becoming a boring alternative to others on the market, operators created products that borrow features from video games.

Millennials lived in unstable economic conditions and are therefore notable for their rationalism. As a result, they prefer more affordable entertainment, including activities which do not involve leaving the house.