DEADWOOD, South Dakota (South Dakota News Watch) – If Deadwood casino operators can rouse the ideal target demographic for their sports betting business, Colorado’s Lance Chapdelaine and his associates could hit the proverbial jackpot. Probably.
The 25-year-old banker and several friends called Tin Lizzy Gaming Resort home for a bachelor party in the Black Hills, a five-hour drive from Haxtan, Colorado, for a weekend in early March. They stayed in hotels during their multi-day stay, ate and drank on-site and bet on sporting events.
“There's nothing better than having a few beers with friends while watching college basketball. Betting makes watching the game that much more intimate and fun,” Chapdelaine said.
A small group of Coloradan executives were happy to be a part of what quickly became a lucrative addition to the Deadwood gaming scene. Gambling was legalized in Deadwood in 1989 and expanded to allow roulette, keno, and craps in 2015.
South Dakota voters approved sports betting through a constitutional amendment in 2020.
Since its introduction in September 2021, the number of sportsbooks has increased from two to seven. Wagering amounts have been steadily increasing, as has casino revenue from sports betting. In October 2023, the Deadwood sportsbook's “handle,” or total wagers, exceeded $1 million per month for the first time.
Chapdelaine, who had a $1,000 wager, lost money at the casino but was doing well at Tin Lizzy's sportsbook. Although sports betting is legal in Colorado, Deadwood's casino scene and upbeat atmosphere lured him to a bachelor party and three visits to the gaming mecca in western South Dakota in the past two years.
“We're small-town kids, so the Deadwood environment appeals to us,” said Chapdelaine, who watched college basketball with friends at the Tin Lizzy Sportsbook, ate bratwurst for lunch, and watched the 4-foot He spoke while pouring water into a glass from the height of A vertical plastic tube known as a beer tower. “I think this is the place to be.”
According to the South Dakota Department of Revenue, Deadwood gamblers bet $2.7 million on sports in 2021, $7.2 million in 2022, and $9 million in 2023, an increase of 26% from the previous year.
Although Deadwood's sports bets seem small compared to slot machine play ($1.45 billion bet in 2023) and table game bets ($89.7 million bet in 2023). A glitzy betting area has been added, surrounded by giant TVs showing all sorts of sporting events. It brought a jolt of new energy, new customers, and new revenue to Deadwood.
“If success is measured by positive guest experiences and enthusiasm, Deadwood sports betting has been a huge success,” said David Knight, vice president of operations for Liv Hospitality, which manages Deadwood's two casinos. “David Knight, vice president of operations for Liv Hospitality, which manages Deadwood's two casinos, wrote Newswatch in an email. “There's no denying that sports betting has made Deadwood a more attractive destination. Sports brings together complete strangers to socialize and watch games in a vibrant and exciting atmosphere. , because of their unique ability to enjoy unusual friendships.”
The consistent growth of sports betting in Deadwood comes as the availability and interest in gambling on sporting events has exploded since the U.S. Supreme Court deemed sports betting legal in 2018. has coincided with a significant increase in sports betting.
U.S. bettors will bet $120 billion on sports in 2023, an increase of 28% from the previous year, according to a report from the American Gaming Association. The sports betting operator's revenue also skyrocketed to $10.9 billion in 2023, an increase of nearly 45% compared to 2022. A total of 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting, and much of that betting is done online.
In South Dakota, the rise in sports betting has turned the Deadwood gaming industry into a major contributor of taxes to various recipients.
“Deadwood Casino contributed more than $16.6 million in gaming tax revenue to historic preservation, tourism promotion, Lawrence County, its municipalities and schools, the South Dakota General Fund, and other government agencies,” the Deadwood Gaming Association said. Announced in 2023.
But the rapid rise in sports betting has also raised concerns that it could lead to gambling addiction, mental health problems, and other unhealthy behaviors, especially among young men.
A 2023 Rutgers University study of gambling trends in New Jersey, the nation's top state for sports betting, revealed alarming data about the tendency of some bettors to become addicted to gaming.
The study found that most sports bettors tend to be men under the age of 45, and more than 90% gamble moderately or frequently. The report's findings suggest that people who bet on sports tend to engage in a variety of negative behaviors.
“People who bet on sports and horses were significantly more likely than others to use tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs, to binge drink, to report drug and alcohol problems, and to engage in addictive behaviors of all kinds. ” states the report. . “Furthermore, people in the three youngest age categories, ages 18 to 44, were overrepresented among high-risk problem gamblers.”
If you are concerned about gambling, you can get help over the phone by calling the South Dakota Lottery Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-888-781-HELP (888-781-4357).
Sports betting has fundamentally changed Deadwood's gaming industry, according to Tin Lizzy general manager Josh Thurms.
He said the gender breakdown of casino patrons used to be slightly more female than male, but sports betting has brought more men to the Deadwood casino and evened out the gender breakdown. Ta. Sportsbook patrons also tend to skew slightly younger than casinos overall.
But the change is deeper than that, Thurms said.
For example, the traditional high season for gaming in Deadwood has long followed the high season of the larger Black Hills tourism market, lasting roughly from May to September.
Sahms said the incredible interest in betting on college and NFL football games has led to a surge in Deadwood from the start of the football season in September to the College Football Playoff in January and the Super Bowl in early February. The number of new regular customers has increased rapidly. The upcoming March Madness men's college basketball tournament will bring a lot of patrons to the sportsbook during what is traditionally a slow period for games in Deadwood, Thurms said.
“Summer is still peak season, but there's no doubt that sports betting is driving guests to Deadwood during times outside of normal peak times,” Thurms told Newswatch.
During major sporting events, sportsbooks can also charge patrons a fee to reserve seats to watch the big game on multiple large TVs and monitors, and operators can offer free play at the casino. He said he was compensating with the offer.
Sports betting has not only attracted a new breed of gamblers, but has also boosted gaming activity on days when casinos are traditionally slower.
“In the fall, we have college football on Saturdays, then we have NFL on Sundays, Sunday nights, Mondays, and now Thursdays,” Thurms said. “During college bowl season, games are played every night for several weeks.”
As a result, Deadwood's tourist weekend, which traditionally lasted from Friday night until Sunday morning, could be extended for an additional day or two with sports betting opportunities on Sunday and Monday.
In addition, sports betting has stimulated spending on food and beverages and hotels at casinos with sportsbooks, creating a space where patrons can place their bets and then spend up to three hours watching a game of their interest. said Mr. Thurms.
“One of the big things we've seen is residual revenue from sports betting,” Thurms said. “Food and beverage spending is expected to increase, and sports betting is likely to be taken over by slots and table game play.”
The launch of sports betting coincides with an overall increase in visitorship and spending to Deadwood over the past several years, said Amanda Kill, director of marketing for the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce and Tourism. Ta.
Deadwood's hotel occupancy and tourism spending both increased in 2023, Kill said, and the city's local foot traffic also increased by about 2%, according to estimates from cell phone monitoring company Placer.ai.
“All of these increases are tracking and reinforcing each other,” Kill said in an interview with Newswatch. “Sports betting is also part of the fun, which is always great for Deadwood.”
Thurms said Deadwood's next advancement in sports betting will be an expansion of the types of sports that can be bet on, as well as new ways for bettors to bet on game elements even after the event has begun.
Michael Shaw, 29, a Rapid City resident who used to visit Deadwood once a year, now makes the 40-minute drive five times a month to bet on sporting events. He typically makes long-shot, multi-game parlays that can yield rare but delicious profits of up to $1,000 on a $20 bet.
Sports betting appeals to him because he likes watching sports on TV and likes to bet at a slow pace.
“I've always been a big sports fan and it's even more fun to watch games like this,” Shaw told Newswatch. “Furthermore, at roulette he can lose money in 10 seconds, and it takes him more than two hours for his bet to come in.”
Shaw said he would like to see South Dakota approve sports betting over the internet or over the phone so people don't have to travel to Deadwood to place a bet. Two previous legislative attempts to expand sports betting to licensed bar and restaurant kiosks in suburban Deadwood have failed in recent years, said Matt Krogman, lobbyist for the South Dakota Licensed Beverage Distributors and Gaming Association. He says it's over. Krogman said a remote kiosk would have allowed sports betting through Deadwood's existing gambling operations at the casino.
For example, installing sports betting kiosks in the East River area would allow people who placed sports bets at Grand Falls Casino and Golf Resort, just east of Sioux Falls and the Hard Rock, to travel to Iowa to play the game. It would keep revenue and tax revenue within the state. A hotel and casino in Sioux City, Iowa, he said.
Meanwhile, Shaw said he would continue to drive to Deadwood to bet on longshots, although he would like to bet from his home or elsewhere in Rapid City.
“I understand what they're trying to do, but I wish they would allow mobile betting outside of Deadwood,” Shaw said. “It would be more convenient for people if we could do that, that's for sure.”
— This article was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a nonprofit journalism organization online at sdnewswatch.org.
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