Las Vegas Sands Corp announced last week that it will shut down its iGaming division, Sands Digital Services (SDS), a move that will affect roughly 400 employees, according to a report from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
In a letter to staff, company President and CEO Patrick Dumont explained that the decision followed a careful review of the division’s progress and future potential.
“Investments in SDS were made with the understanding that we would periodically evaluate the most practical path forward,” Dumont wrote. “Ultimately, it became clear that continuing this business was no longer consistent with the company’s core long-term goals.”
Sands flip-flopped on iGaming
Sheldon Adelson, the late founder of Las Vegas Sands, was famously opposed to online gambling. While competitors like MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment embraced the digital shift, Adelson vowed to “spend whatever it takes” to fight what he called a “danger to society.”
In 2014, he established the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, aiming to overturn the U.S. Department of Justice’s 2011 reinterpretation of the 1961 Wire Act, which had allowed individual states to legalize online gaming.
Critics argued Adelson’s resistance was motivated more by business interests than moral concerns, viewing it as a move to protect his land-based casino empire. Yet even Adelson hinted at eventual participation in the market, telling the Las Vegas Sun in 2001, “Our hat will be in that ring. If this is going to happen, we want people who know what they’re doing controlling it.”
Adelson passed away in January 2021 at age 87, but Las Vegas Sands later took tentative steps into the online space. In 2022, the company invested in Curaçao-based iGaming provider Qbet and launched Sands Digital Services (SDS), intending to develop a live-dealer streaming platform for licensed markets.
Sands to concentrate on Macau, Singapore
In 2021, Las Vegas Sands Corp sold its U.S. casino holdings — including The Venetian and The Palazzo on the Las Vegas Strip — to focus exclusively on its Asian operations. That strategy remains unchanged, CEO Patrick Dumont emphasized in his October 2 letter to employees.
“Overall, we are very fortunate to operate in the two best markets in our industry — Macau and Singapore,” Dumont wrote. “Over the past two decades, we’ve set the benchmark for investment in land-based properties, consistently meeting and exceeding the promises we’ve made to our host markets.
“Our commitment to our partners and local communities remains a defining part of who we are,” he continued. Sands also remains devoted to being “the most shareholder-friendly company in the gaming and hospitality industry,” adding that “we have much to look forward to in the years ahead.”
Online gambling remains illegal in Macau, where Sands operates five integrated casino resorts. In Singapore, home to Marina Bay Sands, iGaming is strictly limited to Singapore Pools, which offers lotteries, horse racing, and sports betting. All other forms of remote gambling, whether based in or outside the country, are prohibited under the Gaming Regulatory Authority.
Earlier this year, Sands withdrew from pursuing a New York casino license, citing concerns that legalizing iGaming in the future could undercut revenue from brick-and-mortar casinos. The company had previously proposed a US$4 billion integrated resort at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site on Long Island.
