Las Vegas Casinos Not Connecting with Young Bettors, Says Activist

Recent visitation numbers suggest Las Vegas is hurting.  One conservative pundit believes that casinos' failure to engage with younger gamblers is one of the causes.

Conservative activist and host of "The Robby Starbuck Show," Robby Starbuck, has stated that land-based casinos, particularly those on the Las Vegas Strip, are not the preferred destination for the 40-year-old and younger demographic. This is further exacerbated by the fact that they can gamble on their cellphones while remaining at home.

"Now nearly everyone under 40 who bets seems to do it online,” Starbuck said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I don’t know one person under 40 who goes to Vegas regularly to bet or play slots.”

Although Starbuck, a former Tennessee congressional candidate, is using generalizations when discussing the demographic commentary, there is evidence that millennials are less casino-enthusiastic than their elder counterparts.  The eldest members of Generation Z, those born approximately between 1997 and 2016, are even less likely to attend physical gaming establishments, which makes matters worse for gaming enterprises.

Writing on the Wall for Las Vegas Casinos

Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ: CZR) and MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM), the two biggest Strip operators, have released second-quarter earnings reports that confirm the sluggishness in the US casino center, but they and others are not attributing it to younger gamblers.

However, there is merit to Starbucks' claim that Gen Z and millennials prefer to bet from the comfort of their homes.  Caesars reported that the second quarter was among the strongest on record for its digital division, while BetMGM recently increased its 2025 financial guidance.  These indicate that iGaming is flourishing among the demographics that gaming businesses are interested in.

Old-fashioned Las Vegas marketing isn't appealing to younger consumers, and younger generations require less face-to-face social engagement than their older counterparts, according to Starbucks.

“Another differentiator is that older generations focused on real-life interaction, while younger generations feel just as content with parasocial online experiences,” he said in the Fox interview. “The Vegas marketing image is one centered on slots and showgirls, two things young people have no interest in.”

How Gen Z and Millennials Bet

It's important to look at where the under-40 demographic is gambling if they are as opposed to Las Vegas as Starbucks says.  The bulk of sports bettors are Millennials and Gen Z, and betting on sports is permitted in 38 states.  Only seven states allow iGaming, though, which may indicate that younger gamblers are using unregulated websites or sweepstakes casinos to place their bets.

It's probable, if not probable, that a large number of younger gamblers are also using prediction markets as a substitute for traditional casinos as a way to place bets.

Noting that the wagering universe of millennials and Gen Z frequently includes assets like cryptocurrencies and extremely speculative meme stocks, several experts have also claimed that gambling can take on new forms with these groups than just slots, table games, and sports betting.