Evidently, you can't teach an old dog new tricks.
A legendary organization in the land-based casino industry, Las Vegas Sands decided in 2021 to venture into the internet gambling space. This decision came after the company's sale of The Venetian and Palazzo properties to Apollo Global Management and Vici Properties. At the same time, Las Vegas Sands was acquiring the assets of Qbet.
The company's digital gaming arm, Sands Digital Services (SDS), was hoping to gain a foothold in the live dealer casino realm of the online gambling industry.
However, the plan to become a player in the online gambling space never got off the ground.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal was the first to report on the decision to shutter SDS.
“As has always been the entrepreneurial approach of our company, 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,” Sands President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Dumont wrote in a letter to affected staffers earlier this month. A copy of that letter was obtained by the LVRJ.
From the outset, the founding of SDS was for it to be a B2B company, taking an entrepreneurial approach into the online gambling marketplace. The objective was to create live dealer studios.
Las Vegas Sands would then be offering the services of these live dealer setups to online casino sites, streaming wagering into licensed iGaming markets in the USA. Evidence suggests that SDS never acquired a single deal with an online casino.
According to Dumont, the Las Vegas Sands board reached the conclusion that further pursuit of this project was not consistent with the company’s strategy.
The decision to close SDS will result in the elimination of 400 jobs. Those Las Vegas Sands employees impacted by the shutdown will be offered the chance to apply for other job openings with the company.
Las Vegas Sands officials didn't rule out a re-entry into the digital gambling space at a later date.
“The digital landscape continues to evolve, and technology and innovation will continue to play an important role in our industry," Dumont said. "As a company, we will continue to explore and invest in opportunities that are in the best interests of our shareholders.”
Originally, seeing the attempt by Las Vegas Sands to make an entry into the online gambling realm was a complete 180-degree turn from the objectives of Sheldon Adelson, the company's founder. He was a staunch opponent of online gambling, even though others in the Las Vegas land-based casino industry were strong supporters of online gambling.
Even after the legalization of online gambling, Adelson continued his fight. He launched an advocacy group, the Coalition To Stop Internet Gambling. He bankrolled political candidates who were seeking to overturn state legislation that legalized online gambling. Adelson hired lawyers and lobbyists to fight against bids to legalize online gambling.
“I am willing to spend whatever it takes,” Adelson told Forbes Magazine in a 2013 interview. “My moral standard compels me to speak out on this issue because I am the largest company by far in the industry. And I am willing to speak out.
"I don’t see any compelling reason for the government to allow people to gamble on the Internet."
Interestingly, Adelson died in 2021, the same year that Las Vegas Sands launched SDS.
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