The Isle of Wight – as anyone who lives here or has ever visited can attest to – is a wonderful place. The island retains a certain charm and quaintness, yet still maintains infrastructure that can give people a busier pace of life. But, there is one aspect of modern day entertainment that seems to be lacking from the Isle of Wight: a casino.
In 2020, our entertainment tastes will change once again, and people are more interested in experiences rather than things. A visit to a casino is perfect for groups of friends and to offer something extra to a night out. So, why doesn’t the Isle of Wight provide this experience? Could it elevate the island’s tourism? Or are online casinos the only option for gamblers on the Isle of Wight in 2020?
Isle of Wight as a Party Destination
The Isle of Wight could benefit from some physical casinos as the growing trend of stag and hen nights are seeing the island as a potential destination. Gone are the days where hen and stag parties take place in the local bars, or even in another city. People are wanting to have a night-time experience as well as a daytime one.
The Isle of Wight’s scenery and range of outdoor activities have positioned it as somewhere that would be good to visit for a pre-wedding party. The wedding market is lucrative and improving these entertainment facilities could be beneficial for the island. While Isle of Wight events company Shuffles Events offers a pop-up fun casino experience, but plays with tokens and comes to your venue, this isn’t quite what a casino would offer.
Online Casino Dominance
While there may be a dearth of physical gambling places in the Isle of Wight, there is no shortage online. There are plenty of UK casino sites that offer a strong online selection of the kinds of games people want to play. These range from sites specialising in a multitude of different online slots, taking inspiration from popular TV shows and franchises, to those that take advantage of stunning visuals.
There are table games, such as poker and blackjack, and live variations of these that use the latest digital technologies. The scope of what can be done online means that the industry continues to grow as technology does. As mobile gaming continues to increase, online casino has also been able to adapt to this and grow an audience of those who want to play on the go as an example of hyper-casual gaming.
Isle of Wight and Gaming
The Isle of Wight is no stranger to gaming though. There is the Summer Arcade that offers traditional seaside games amusements, such as the 1p and 2p machines. There is also the Leo Leisure Bingo Club, where people gather to take part in traditional gaming such as bingo. There is even a board game café. These provisions show that there is an audience on the island for those wanting to explore what gaming has to offer – in its many forms.
So, it’s clear that there is a huge gap in the market for attracting those who want to game on the Isle of Wight. But, are the people likely to be interested? The average age of people on the Isle of Wight is 44, while the median age is 46. So, it could be argued that there just isn’t the desire from the traditionally younger audience who might want gaming to be bigger there. However, there is evidence that older males enjoy gambling and older females like gaming in the form of hyper-casual mobile gaming. So, they could take advantage of such facilities if they were to be introduced.
Could We Get a Casino?
Whether we did get a casino on the Isle of Wight is down to two factors. Firstly, developers would need to know that it would be used and that it would be worth the investment. Secondly, residents would need to agree it. Planning can be stalled if a large number of residents take issue with it. Or, at the very least, the development wouldn’t be as popular once it is introduced if that is the case. Newly re-elected MP Bob Seely could always push through plans for the development if his constituents agreed it would be beneficial to them.
The Isle of Wight offers plenty of experiences for those who live there and as a tourist destination. The only thing missing is somewhere for gamblers to gather. As a result of this lack, the only solution for those who want to gamble on the Isle of Wight is for people to use the range of online casinos available. Perhaps the future could lead to a casino resort being built on the island and the Isle of Wight could be remarketed as the Las Vegas of the South East. Until then, it’s online casinos.
