Casino Gambling Five Times as Popular as Film Entertainment

According to an article at Investopedia.com, casino gambling in the US in 2009 took in over $50 billion in revenue, more than five times more than the total gross ticket sales for Hollywood movies the same year. Even though the recession was hurting casino numbers, and movies were near a record race for sales as James Cameron’s “Avatar” set all-time box office highs, more Americans chose gaming as their preferred form of entertainment.

Commercially licensed casinos across the US brought in just over $31 billion, while tribal casinos collected over $26 billion in revenue. Tickets for movie theater shows art US locations equaled $10.6 billion.

Some gambling analysts speculate that a part of the explanation for US residents finding gambling to be more entertaining make begin with customer service. Noted gambling expert Sherman Bradley says casinos are constantly interpreting data and feedback to keep patrons as happy as possible.

Meanwhile, movie executives are generally too anxious over mammoth budgets to take chances on creative new script ideas. Major Hollywood releases are more likely to be the continuation of a franchise series, at least until the last drop of appeal is millked, or a reimagining of an old television show or video game.

Online casinos may profit even more, as their convenience and constant addition of new and intriguing games bypasses the ability of land-based gaming to react to consumer demands. As gambling becomes more readily available in the US, some might observe the only reason film reached its past popularity was because gaming was forbidden.