Casino culture continues to change. From the bingo hall room full of cigarette smoke in community center halls fifty years ago to the large casino floors of well-lighted Las Vegas to a casino in your hand today as an app on your mobile phone. One aspect of casino culture that continues to be consistent through all of these changes are the social aspects of casino culture, the almost winner experience and the rituals associated with gaming. Understanding how casino culture has evolved will allow us to understand how trending sweepstakes casinos were able to create such a strong base of customer loyalty and attract millions of new customers within just a few short years.
The Bingo Hall Era
Bingo halls were mainstream gaming for most people, as social gaming, for many years. Skill was not required to play bingo games. A large bankroll was not needed. People did not have to travel to some casino or another resort-style gambling destination. Millions of people had their first experience of anticipation while waiting for a specific number when churches would use their basement as a Bingo hall, community centers and pier-side areas along beaches.
The Rise of the Casino Floor
Casino destination resorts became popular by reaching larger segments of the public during the latter part of the 20th century. People were able to afford traveling, and visit these destinations. Therefore, many of the major cities with casinos in the United States now see their casinos as iconic landmarks (Las Vegas). Many other cities soon followed. The casino resort had several advantages over the bingo hall. It had: more room; greater spectacles; more diversity.
The casino floor offered its patrons various forms of betting (slots, roulette, black jack, poker rooms), and entertainment (live). All of which took place in one location. This time frame also marked the beginning of a unique casino aesthetic that will likely never disappear. The sounds associated with a spinning reel on a slot machine, the images from a deck of cards, the chips used for bets, the feel of being in a casino’s gaming area at 12 AM are now embedded into modern American pop culture through film, TV, and music. These elements still greatly impact how Americans perceive casino gaming today.
How the Shift to Digital Changed Everything
Casinos online were able to capitalize on more than just the Internet’s ability to allow them to offer games online. The Internet allowed them to change how customers interacted with a platform. When it came to accessing a large number of slots, live dealers, and poker tournament options; the Internet eliminated geographical barriers. A player in a rural town, which had no local casino or bingo hall, was now able to instantly access hundreds of different slot machines and poker tournaments via their laptop.
The friction associated with traveling to a physical casino was entirely removed. The mobile phone took it even further. A smartphone has enabled casino gamers to essentially have access to gaming at all times. Daily gamers who may previously have visited bingo halls every other weekend can now game every day for either short periods (i.e., 5 minutes) or long periods (i.e., 5 hours); and do so according to their own schedule.
This created a significant cultural shift. Gaming shifted from being a destination based activity to an ambient experience. It is this type of gaming environment that attracted individuals who have never physically attended a casino.
Era by Era: How the Experience Changed
| Era | Format | Access | Player |
| 1940s-1970s | Bingo halls, social clubs | Local, walk-in | Community regulars |
| 1970s-1990s | Land-based casinos | Travel required | Tourists, enthusiasts |
| 1990s-2000s | Desktop online casinos | Home PC needed | Tech-comfortable adults |
| 2010s | Mobile casino apps | Smartphone only | Broad demographic mix |
| 2020s | Sweepstakes and social casinos | Free, no purchase needed | Casual players, all ages |
What Sweepstakes Casinos Borrowed from the Past
The Sweepstakes Casino Model was not created by chance. Rather it is based upon elements from previous models that were able to be combined into a format to which an entirely new digital native customer base can relate.
- Diversity of a casino floor: Slots, table games & live dealer games all available in one place.
- Social elements of digital gaming: Leader boards, daily bonuses, promotional events etc. creating reasons to return.
- Prize structure: Making sweepstakes culturally familiar prior to online gaming existing.
These four components explain how this format has experienced such rapid growth. This format allows Players to engage with casino culture using their mobile device at no financial risk or obligation, while still providing the same overall experience that casino culture has historically revolved around.
What Has Not Changed
In terms of both time and type of game, there are some elements that remain constant with respect to why we do what we do when we play. The emotional reaction (neurological) to just missing a winning combination remains the same as in a bingo hall in 1962. Why does our excitement grow if someone wins in an online casino? It’s because of the validation from others; whether it is real money or virtual, people want to know they were part of something bigger than themselves. And why do players log into their casino accounts on a daily basis to collect their rewards? It is the same reason why the “regular” bingo players show up every week (Tuesday, for example). Casino culture may be changing how games get played but the aspects that bring us back to playing them aren’t.
