Taking care of the environment isn’t something that’s mainly associated with gambling. Enormous, lavish constructions, with bolted on hotels, retail, and even residential developments don’t usually speak to an environmentalist program, but they indeed come up pretty instantly when you think of the gambling industry.
It’s difficult to dispute with the appeal of a brick and mortar casino. The bright lights, the cocktail servers in their unique dresses, the free cocktails, the supplementary facilities, the fresh oxygen pumped through the air-conditioning system to make you happy at gambling, all these brilliant items add up to a great casino activity – one in which you may not really mind parting with most of the contents of your wallet.
But the casino experience comes with a more significant cost than you may not have considered: the damage to the ecosystem.
Unless you happen to live in a town with legalized gambling, or nearby a reservation casino in the U.S., then the probabilities are strong that you’ll have to travel to get to your casino experience.
Adding the aforesaid bright lights and the universal air conditioning that seems to go hand in hand with brick and mortar gambling to the fuel miles it will take you to visit the casino experience of your choice, and you’ve shared many times your annual share of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
For many years now the conflict has exploded between traditional casinos and the online casinos. While they are now coming collectively more and more, the discussion still runs as to which is better. For people who are concerned about sustainability and the environment, there may be an answer.
Though making considerable improvements in recent years in regards to carbon footprint and environmental impact, traditional casinos still have a massive effect on our planet. The CO2 emissions produced by the millions of people who drive to casinos each day is on an excessive figure, as is the energy expenditure used to control the casinos and all the electronic games within.
As well as poisoning the air and consuming energy, physical casinos also have a much more significant impact on the land itself.
The Bellagio in Las Vegas takes up almost 5 million square feet and dumps out vast amounts of trash. In opposition to this, the PokerStars’ quarters on the Isle of Man takes up only 60,000 square feet, allowing for more space for greenbelt areas.
However, while online casinos are more environmentally friendly, socially they don’t have the same positive impact as their traditional counterparts. While some online casinos do attempt to employ local people; they don’t have nearly the same effect on local communities as the bricks and mortar venues. Big casinos employ thousands of people who pump money back into the community, stabilizing local economies and, more importantly, supporting local businesses.
While the big online casinos also have a large number of employees, they’re often specialist staff, such as software engineers and security experts, who are sourced from further afield. On top of this traditional casinos also make much more revenue per casino. This is mostly thanks to the range of amenities that come with a traditional casino such as food, drinks, and retail shops.
There is a serious concern that thanks to the production of online casinos, gambling is now more comfortable and accessible than ever. This leads to the apparent problem of addiction. However, while this is undoubtedly true, unlike traditional venues, online casinos often have large call-to-action buttons for suffering gambling addicts to seek help.
So what does this all mean? Well, thanks to the ability of the internet, online casinos are not going anywhere. While they’re not as good as traditional casinos regarding generating jobs and economies, they have much less impact on the natural world which makes them far more sustainable for the long term. The chips have been laid down, and they’re green!
So why not just play from the shelter, safety, and convenience of your own home instead visiting land-based casinos?
Online Gambling Has Come a Long Way
Online gambling has developed considerably since its Internet opening. There are many more casinos to pick from than there are in the physical world, including casinos that cater to slot machine fanatics, online poker enthusiasts, and even sites set up to take the place of the sports bookmaker.
According to the Wikipedia note on online gambling, it has “become one of the most successful and profitable business presences on the Internet, due to the wide variety of gambling options that are available to help many different sorts of people.” Recent articles on the Fortune.com and BBC have also backed up this view on the progress to the online gambling.
Online Gambling Has Conveniences
Besides the fascination to some of being able to play Texas hold’em in their BVDs, and the appeal to others of not having to take money to and from a brick and mortar casinos that may not be conveniently established, online casinos have offered gamblers a wide variety of extra facilities as well.
Some sites offer review and odds information; all conveniently collected up in one place. Many others provide tutorials for those new to gambling or looking to get into a new game or type of wagering. Because of the low operating cost and natural scaling of business that the Internet seems bred for, online gambling sites are very services oriented.
Save the Fuel and the Travel Time, Gamble from Home on the Internet
If you’re concerned at all about the environment, global warming, and climate change, taking some or all of your entertainment activities online is a great way to minimize your ecological footprint.
Online casinos may not offer you free drinks and scantily clad cocktail servers, you may have to suffer through gambling without the false confidence born of extra oxygen in the atmosphere, but you won’t be contributing to one of the least green sectors of the entertainment industry, and you can still get your wager on.
Consider your average trip to the casino. It might be a Saturday night event, and it might see you traveling to your neighboring town or city. That could be a car ride, a train ride or even a taxi to the door if you’re going through – not to consider the carbon footprint of the raising itself. Visiting a casino impact the environment regarding your transportation to the casino, but even hitting a real casino in the first position means you’re joining to the carbon footprint of your gaming.
Land-based casinos and gambling resorts are massive constructions; involving raw materials, machinery and fuel all of which contributes to taxing the environment, take Macau for the case. And that’s before you look at everything else you purchase or apply, all for a great Saturday night – whether you lose or win.
But it doesn’t have to be this way, and an increasing number of players are modifying their playing behavior in response to growing concerns over the environmental impact of gambling. One of the most effective, straightforward ways to do this is to switch to gambling exclusively online, rather than offline.
Online gambling needs none of the traveling, and there’s no personal contribution to the environmental footprint of a land-based casino. At the same time, you’re not forgoing anything you would expect from a trip to a physical casino – the same games, the equal winnings and sometimes even better bonuses and promotions mean you’re getting similar, if not higher, gambling adventure, without the carbon footprint.
The Future of Vegas and Eco Gambling
If your local land-based casino supplies to eruptions and polluting the environment, then it is blankly related to the influence of big hotels like Vegas. The reality complicates this, so multiple players like to visit Vegas by air, sometimes flying thousands of miles to enjoy all the things the city has to give.
Vegas has always been considered the global home of gambling, and it will continue to be a prominent destination for travelers and gamblers alike in the decades to come. There is just too much going on in Vegas for it to pass as a traveler attraction. Though there are some indications that the numbers of guests might be starting to fall from their all-time heights, and a part of that must be to do with the growth of online gambling.
Keeping one eye on the environmental consequence of your gambling would suggest that traveling to Vegas, if at all, is a once in a lifetime thing – mainly if you’re flying in from another continent. The environmental impact of each trip doesn’t bear thinking about, and at a time when people worldwide are actively trying to become more environmentally conscious, it’s becoming increasingly hard to justify for many gamblers.
Play Online – Protect the Environment with More Convenient Gambling
Playing online resolves much of these concerns. In large part, this is probably why so many more gamblers are turning to online and mobile gaming, instead of making their trips across cities, countries or even continents to reach the gambling tables. Because online casinos have a minimal physical footprint, other than maybe a few offices, they offer a much lower carbon footprint all in. That means less damage to the environment, as well as the convenience of not having to leave your home to play.
That includes live casino games – you can even play with a real dealer to get the full land-based casino experience from home or your mobile device. At a time where it is becoming increasingly important for individuals to take responsibility for their impact on the planet, having such a convenient, low-emissions alternative at your fingertips is a great reason to choose to gamble as your eco-friendly entertainment of choice.
Responsibility at Online and Mobile Casinos
The practice of delivering an online or mobile casino gaming experience may be vastly different to its land-based equivalent, but the benefits to the operator and of course to the environment itself are massively significant. These casinos offer to game from a central location, and many of the best online brands and casino apps make use of servers that work in accordance with their eco-friendly policies. Cloud-based solutions, for example, are not only extraordinarily stable but can also lessen server expenses and operational costs. When housed in an environmentally friendly location, power costs are lower, and the player experience is by no means negatively influenced.
The duties of interactive gaming operatives spread further than this too and promoting responsible gaming can be every bit as effective as reducing a carbon footprint. There are several operators that go out of its way with their Green Gaming policy – possibly the most excellent corporate accountability project in the industry right now. A dedicated segment of their sites include limits, support and everything else to place it as one of the most experienced labels around. It also surely supports that they are behind some of the best online games and one of the most delightful mobile casino apps in the business, always ranking highly when it comes to mobile casino reports. So, while the gaming industry may seem to be all about the earnings, they are also at the cutting edge of implementing an environmentally friendly service. This bodes well for future developments in all industries, and those that enjoy dabble in offline, online or even mobile gaming can do so safe in the knowledge that they can do so without worrying about risking their personal eco-friendly goals.
There are so many things which these online casinos are trying to do for the earth, but you should share in the responsibilities as well. For instance, you can also do so much to help their efforts in running a more environmentally sustainable business. For example, try playing casino on mobile devices or even online rather than driving or flying hundreds of kilometers from your home to your destination and play in casinos which, naturally, consume a lot of energy.
Play online games and save your earth!