Have you ever wanted to own a stake in a casino? Many new casino developments now allow thousands of people to do just that. Casinos do this through a resident ownership model, where people who live near casinos can own a stake in the business.
In this article, we will discuss the resident ownership model in detail and explain why casinos have started to embrace it. We’ll also examine how this trend intersects with the digital gaming space, especially as more people invest in and play online casino games, blending physical ownership with virtual entertainment. This trend is helping reshape the economic and strategic landscape for both casino operators and the local
What Is Resident Ownership in Casino Development?
Before we discuss the impacts of the resident ownership model, let’s briefly describe it. Resident ownership is a mixed-ownership model that splits casino shares between the company and people who live near the casino.
Say MGM plans to build a new casino resort in your neighborhood. Under a resident ownership model, MGM would own most of the casino, but you would also be given shares to earn dividends from the project. In traditional corporate-owned or investor-led casino models, the casino companies and other outside investors would benefit from the casino being built.
Our example here is a basic resident ownership model. They can also form public-private partnerships between local governments, equity crowdfunding efforts only open to local investors, or partnerships with local stakeholder boards like chambers of commerce.
Why Interest in Resident Ownership Is Growing
Why are many casino companies turning to the resident ownership model? The answer varies between jurisdictions, but it comes down to the fact that it’s much easier to build new casinos if you engage with the local community. Resident ownership is arguably the most direct way to do that.
Many people are okay with casinos but don’t want to live near one. Offering a stake in the casino itself changes that calculation for many residents. This is especially important in jurisdictions that require a public vote for new casino developments.
Governments have also challenged new casino projects as more data shows that casino revenues aren’t always returning to their communities. Resident ownership also addresses these concerns and makes local governments more likely to approve casino projects.
Potential Advantages of Resident-Owned Casino Projects
Community ownership has many advantages. First, resident ownership gives direct economic benefit to local shareholders through dividends. It also aligns the casino’s goals with the local communities. Since both parties have skin in the game, they are both motivated to make the casino project successful.
New casino developments can also create hundreds or even thousands of jobs, which leads to more money being reinvested directly into communities. Local involvement in ownership gives non-corporate stakeholders a seat during discussions about cutting jobs, living wages, and other essential topics that workers usually don’t have a say in.
Challenges and Risks of the Resident Ownership Model
As good as the benefits of the resident ownership model are, implementing it is often challenging. For one, the US legal code is very complicated. One non-traditional resident ownership model might work in one county but not another, just an hour’s drive away.
Additionally, every local community has different priorities. The law doesn’t always allow all of these priorities to be met. Companies and local governments must be very creative with their resident ownership models. They also have to be wary of corruption issues and ensure that every part of the negotiation process is above board.
Creating one that meets a community’s needs and works legally can take years. Even then, some jurisdictions require a vote, which could make years of negotiations meaningless if the public votes against a casino project.
There are also issues with upfront costs, which are harder to recover if local stakeholders take a cut of the profits.
Case Studies and Experiments in Community or Resident-Led Gaming
Despite the many challenges of building a resident-owned casino, it’s still possible to complete these projects. You just have to look at tribal casinos, which have operated under a revenue-sharing model for decades.
The Florida Seminole Tribe, for example, pays out millions of dollars in dividends yearly to tribal members thanks to its global Hard Rock Casino brand. This is an extreme example, but dozens of nationwide tribes pay similar dividends. Tribes in Michigan issued over $30 million in dividends in 2018 alone.
In Canada, most casinos are owned entirely by the government. This includes the world-famous Montreal Casino, the biggest casino in Canada. It is entirely owned by the Société des Casinos du Québec, a subsidiary of the government-run Loto-Québec corporation.
Government-owned casinos and resident-led locations are less common in the US but are becoming more popular. Bally’s is pushing to open a new casino in The Bronx that will be partially resident-owned.
How Technology Could Enable Resident Ownership
Corporations are trying to overcome the difficulties of establishing resident-owned casinos by using modern technology, such as blockchain-backed smart contracts and large crowdfunding platforms.
These technologies benefit by allowing for increased transparency and streamlined distribution and control of small shares. However, this technology is unproven mainly on a large scale, and legislation around this kind of micro-ownership is still murky.
What Regulators and Lawmakers Need to Consider
There are things all local lawmakers should consider and things they can do to make resident ownership work more effectively. The first step is adapting local laws. Many jurisdictions have rules prohibiting specific collective and hybrid ownership structures, and others have regulations making them more difficult to adopt than traditional corporate financing.
Modifying these rules and adopting new ones to encourage community investment is essential to building successful resident-owned casinos. That said, creating new casinos shouldn’t be the only priority. Lawmakers should also implement safeguards and clear rules that ensure transparency. This encourages genuine local participation while avoiding conflicts of interest.
Will Resident Ownership Scale—or Stay Niche?
While many trends in the casino industry have come and gone, we believe that resident and other community ownership models are here to stay. Residential ownership models provide a safeguard against the destruction of small communities. For larger and more urban areas, these models ensure that money earned from casinos stays in those communities.
It’s still early in the grand scheme of things, but if and when community-owned models become more widespread, it’s hard to see any new casino project approved without some local ownership involved.
Resources
https://nypost.com/2025/03/17/us-news/ballys-offers-bronx-residents-ownership-in-planned-casino/
By Chris Bates
