The "hottest topic" at the casino industry’s biggest trade show this week in Las Vegas is a "growing business that’s left major players like MGM Resorts International out of the action: fantasy sports," according to Christopher Palmeri of BLOOMBERG NEWS. Casino execs interviewed during the G2E Global Gaming Expo said that the "murky legal status of fantasy sports and rules set down by state authorities prevent the companies from joining in." MGM Resorts Chair & CEO Jim Murren said, "I would like to know how it is we’re going to address this issue on a national level. It’s extraordinarily ambiguous now." The explosion of fantasy sports is a "growing frustration for the casino industry." Customer spending may reach $17.7B by '20, from $3.7B this year, while the casinos’ "core business of slot machines and blackjack is seeing lackluster growth, and owners have struggled to expand into new areas." Local or federal law "restricts their ability to offer online gambling and sports betting." Casino execs "gripe that the leagues object to sports betting, yet have their hand in the fantasy pie." Penn National Gaming President & CEO Tim Wilmott said, "The NFL is being exposed as hypocritical. Lawmakers are starting to look at this and say, why is this different?" Officials from the American Gaming Association, which represents gaming companies, "met with attorneys general from seven states on Monday to discuss the status of sports betting and non-traditional forms of wagering" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/1).
