The results are in, and they do not paint a pretty picture for the future of land casinos around the world.  At the turn of the century, land casino business was booming throughout the world.  Casinos from Monte Carlo to the U.K. to Las Vegas were raking in tons of money, and players generally seemed to be pleased with their payouts. 

Casino empires, such as the Bellagio, expanded from Las Vegas into New Jersey to compete with the Trump Empire there.  Casino Magnate, Steve Wynn, also expanded his empire, and built the most luxurious casino in the United States in the heart of the casino town of Las Vegas. 

Then, the economic recession hit in 2008 and it has carried into 2010.  New construction came to a halt, as people lost substantial portions of their life savings, due to greed and mismanagement on the part of banks and unscrupulous investors.  However, a closer look at the trend of attendance in land casinos over the past decade will show that the decrease in land casino attendance had started long before the economic recession gripped the world.

The Mintel Organization, a respected global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence, reports that its data indicate that there have been other factors contributing to the demise of the land-based casinos in favour of online gambling.  Its report shows that there has been a 35 percent decrease in attendance in land casinos from 2001 to the present time.  The decrease has been gradual, however, and has been affected by consumers choosing other entertainment forms. 

The Internet is the chief form of entertainment that has cut into the attendance of land-based casinos.  Online gambling is a less expensive alternative, and the payouts are higher.  Additionally, players have more privacy to play their favourite games without upsetting their daily routines.  With the convenience of Internet accessibility on cell phones, players can participate in casino gaming anywhere they can gain access to the Internet.

You can also play online casino games for free on free online casino gaming sites, such as the renowned Onlinegambling.co.uk.  In the Unites States, where online gambling is purportedly banned, 12 percent of Americans participated in some form of online gambling during the year 2009.  Yet, only 30 percent of American adults visited a land-based casino in 2009, which reflected a continuation of the decline in attendance witnessed over the past decade.  As far as online gambling is concerned, men are still more likely to participate over women by a 5:1 margin. 

Free casino action has picked up remarkably over the course of the last year, as players have found there is a huge upside to playing casino games for free on classy free casino sites.