LAS VEGAS—With their ubiquitous use of high-powered lights and equipment, it’s no big secret that casinos aren’t great for the environment. Indeed, one need only look to the de facto world capital of casino entertainment to see it: Casinos are responsible for 20 percent of all energy output in Las Vegas—a city of some 650,000 residents.
Typically, game machines are responsible for about a third of electricity usage, with lighting accounting for a comparable amount. And though electricity is the most prominent factor in casino sustainability, areas including construction, heating, and water use can all account for a great deal of waste and environmental damage as well. Given all of this, it is fair to say that something must give if the industry hopes to maintain itself (or continue to expand) in a society increasingly concerned with environmental impacts.
Part of the problem might be mitigated with younger generations showing less interest in live casinos anyway. A lot of modern casino gamers would just as soon play on computers and other devices. In fact, online gaming had already come to represent a larger segment of the industry than land-based casinos as of a few years ago. Furthermore, a data breakdown on iGB reveals that in many areas, the pandemic unsurprisingly accelerated the gap between the two.
Playing online is a very different and often more isolating experience, of course. Nothing quite matches the atmosphere of a live environment. However, those gamers who do value a live experience are finding digital alternatives every bit as satisfying as the real thing. Card games have broken into virtual reality (VR) already, sometimes in impressive fashion, and the live gaming options on Gala Bingo have provided early templates of what a range of table games (and even game shows) will look like in VR as well. These “live” games simulate casino activity in a way that, with a little refining, will likely render actual venues unnecessary for a lot of modern gamers. Because of all this, we might eventually see the industry and its energy requirements start to settle down on their own.
Casinos & Lighting Choices
In the meantime though, there are some efforts being made by casino businesses to lessen their environmental impact. On the lighting front, one example of a success story is the use of natural light from skylights implemented by the Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel way back in 2008; the change saved the venue huge amounts of energy. More common has been the switch to LED lights, though of course this hasn’t meant holding back on all the flashy visuals that define casinos. The newest casino hotel on the Strip in Vegas, Resorts World, has covered a 100,000-square-foot display and a massive indoor globe with LEDs.
Reducing heating bills, meanwhile, is in some cases as simple as not heating certain areas at certain times of the day, just as any other building. Sourcing power is another challenge that, as with any other physical infrastructure, is going to vary depending on local conditions. To this end, MGM Resorts has built out a 100-megawatt solar array.
Beyond these very large factors in the sustainability of casinos, many are also pursuing other initiatives. For instance, Mandalay Bay is sorting food waste and sourcing local food; casinos such as the MGM Grand have introduced water-saving initiatives while engineers dig a tunnel to draw water if it gets too low. Water harvesting efforts will likely be needed also, as an additional supplement in such extreme environments (and with local bodies of water severely depleted).
Ultimately, the nature of physical casinos is such that short of stringent regulation, in order to carry on doing business they will continue to require a considerable amount of power.
However, substantial components are being overhauled in many cases, which can also have a positive impact on long-term viability.
For more on green initiatives in the casino industry and elsewhere, come back to our site again soon.
