Casino News Roundup: Las Vegas Room Rates Hit Record & Regulator Targets Prediction Markets
Welcome to the Casino Daily News Roundup - your briefing on the latest news from the global casino industry. We bring you the biggest stories from across the sector, covering everything from major business deals and revenue figures to new openings and regulatory developments.
Las Vegas April Visitation Dips 1.8% But Hotel Room Rates Hit All-Time Record
Las Vegas welcomed around 3.3 million visitors in April 2026 - down 1.8% year-on-year - despite a packed events calendar that included WrestleMania, the NCAA Frozen Four and Bruno Mars concerts.
Convention attendance rose 3.2% to 592,100, driven by the NAB Show and Google NEXT conference.
Hotel occupancy came in at 83.1% - down 1.5% from April 2025 - but the standout figure was average daily room rate, which hit a record $190.41 for any April on record.
Revenue per available room reached $158 - the second-highest April figure ever recorded.
LVCVA CEO Steve Hill said May, June, and July are all expected to show improvement, driven by the Golden Knights' Stanley Cup Final run, summer conventions, and the city's America 250 fireworks programme.
Those looking to enjoy the best online casinos while planning their next Vegas visit will find no shortage of options in the meantime.
Nevada Gaming Regulator Urges Casino Industry to "Meet the Moment" Against Prediction Markets
Nevada Gaming Control Board chair Mike Dreitzer delivered a forceful speech at the International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, calling on casino leaders to stand up collectively against sports event prediction markets.
"As an industry, we have to stand for things," Dreitzer said. "When this wholesale creation comes about - where all of a sudden we have an end run that allows for sports betting in 50 states - we have to stand up to it."
Louisiana Gaming Control Board chair Christopher Hebert appeared alongside him, describing the issue as one of fundamental fairness. "We're at a crossroads and the time to stand up is now," Hebert said.
Kalshi has separately filed a lawsuit against Minnesota to block the state's prediction market ban - the latest development in an escalating legal battle playing out in courts across the country.
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UK Black Market Gambling Stakes Set To Almost Double by 2028, New Research Warns
The amount staked with illegal gambling operators in the UK is forecast to almost double by 2028, according to new independent analysis by H2 Gambling Capital.
The research found that the widening gap between regulated and unregulated pricing - driven primarily by the doubling of Remote Gaming Duty to 40% in April 2026 - is accelerating the migration of price-sensitive players to offshore and illegal platforms.
The forecast aligns with warnings from major licensed operators including Evoke, which flagged growing black market penetration in its full-year 2025 results.
The findings arrive as the UK Gambling Commission prepares to make its final decision on the rollout of financial risk assessments - a policy the industry has argued will push further players toward unregulated sites.
