Over the last several years, traditional casinos in Halifax have been on the decline. But that doesn’t mean gambling is going away. In fact, the opposite might be true. Traditional casinos are simply being replaced by online casinos, which have been gaining popularity throughout Canada, including Halifax.
At the surface, the COVID-19 pandemic became the catalyst for more activities moving to online platforms. However, for more than a decade before the pandemic, the Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation reported a decline in the revenue of brick-and-mortar casinos. That industry both in Halifax and nation-wide faced an uncertain future before the pandemic and is now having an even harder time competing with online casinos now.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Visiting a brick-and-mortar casino means having to travel there and stay there for a certain amount of time before traveling back home. Meanwhile, online casinos can be accessed 24/7 as long as someone has a phone or mobile device and a good Internet connection.
Moreover, the top online casinos in Canada offer a similar selection of games to those offered in brick-and-mortar casinos. It’s becoming rare that traditional casinos are able to offer something that people can’t also find online, at least in terms of casino games. Often, there is food, music, and entertainment in a physical casino that can help draw people to those locations. But for people who only want to play casino games and aren’t drawn in by other features, online casinos have everything they need.
As a result, several casinos throughout Nova Scotia have failed to reach revenue targets in recent years. For example, the Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax peaked at $75 million in revenue in 2006-07 but is now earning less than $10 million per year in revenue. Meanwhile, online casinos in Canada are expected to reach over $2.6 billion in revenue by the end of 2024. That is a clear sign that an industry that once thrived throughout Nova Scotia is starting to fail with online casinos taking over the market share in Halifax and throughout Canada.
