According to Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority data, the first four months of this year showed a decrease in the overall number of visitors. Mark Wayman, a recruiter for executives in the gaming and casino industries, told Business Insider in May that Las Vegas bookings through the summer are “the worst I’ve ever seen.”
Air traffic into Harry Reid International Airport is also trending downward, as domestic travel for the first half of 2025 was down 4% compared to last year.
Alternate link: https://archive.ph/z9oWV
But also the freedom of online gambling probably contributed more. I could spend $1k on hotels, food, and travel just got get to vegas to blow away $500. Or I can buy a few pizzas, gather friends to my home, go out to dinner with them, sleep in my own bed, and spin the lottery machine arm on my phone and save most of my money instead?
I don’t think the gambling was the draw for the majority of tourists. It was a factor but they went for the entirety of activities according to the last data I saw on it. It was a destination and not just a gambling venue.
I don’t do online gambling, so maybe I am missing an important detail here, but there’s no recent development that would explain why online gambling would have an effect now, and not a year ago, or even 15 years ago.
Over the past 7-ish years more and more states have legalized online sports gambling. There was a longstanding law that essentially forbade it in most states. It was struck down at the start of this rush.
It could be part of a gradual decline as a result of that