The Las Vegas Sands Corp announced last week that it will discontinue its iGaming unit, Sands Digital Services (SDS). The decision, first reported in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, will put some 400 people out of work.
In a letter to affected employees, Sands President and CEO Patrick Dumont said: “Investments in SDS were made with the understanding there would be multiple points in the process where we would assess the most pragmatic path forward.
“Ultimately,” he continued, “it was clear … that further pursuit of this business was no longer aligned with the company’s core long-term objectives.”
Sands flip-flopped on iGaming
Sheldon Adelson, founder of the US-based casino giant, was well-known for his opposition to online gambling. As MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment embraced the innovation, Adelson pledged to “spend whatever it takes” to prevent this “danger to society”.
In 2014, he launched the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling. The organisation sought to reverse the US Department of Justice’s 2011 reinterpretation of the 1961 federal Wire Act, a legal action that opened the door for individual states to launch legal iGaming.
Some saw Adelson’s stance as less about protecting gamblers and more about protecting his investment in brick-and-mortar casinos. In a 2001 interview about internet gambling, he told the Las Vegas Sun: “Our hat will be in that ring. If this is going to happen, we want people who know what they’re doing controlling it.”
Adelson died in January 2021 at age 87. In 2022, the company he founded invested in Curaçao-based iGaming provider Qbet. It then launched SDS, with plans to offer a live-dealer streaming platform to licensed jurisdictions. That short-lived experiment is now over.
Sands to concentrate on Macau, Singapore
In 2021, Las Vegas Sands sold its US gaming operations, including the Venetian and Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip, to concentrate on its Asia assets. That strategy continues, Dumont noted in his 2 October letter.
“Overall, we remain very fortunate to operate in the two best markets in our industry,” Macau and Singapore, he said. “Over the past two decades, we have set the standard for the investments we have made in our land-based portfolio of properties. We continually meet and exceed the commitments we have made to our host markets.
“Our dedication to our business partners and local communities remains an important part of our identity,” he wrote. So does Sands’ “commitment to being the most shareholder-friendly company in the gaming and hospitality industry. As a company, we have much to look forward to in the years to come.”
Online gambling is illegal in Macau, where the Sands Corp operates five integrated casino resorts. In Singapore, home of Marina Bay Sands, iGaming is limited to Singapore Pools, which offers lottery, horse racing and sports wagers. All other remote gambling, from inside or outside the republic, is prohibited by the Gaming Regulatory Authority.
Sands previously abandoned plans to bid for a New York casino licence this year, citing concerns that any potential revenue of land-based operations could be harmed by future iGaming legalisation. The company had initially proposed a US$4 billion resort at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Long Island.
Las Vegas Sands Corp has announced it will pull the plug on Sands Digital Services, its online gambling subsidiary, to concentrate on operations in Macau and Singapore.