Our focus on the news is all about responsibility and sustainability here at Green Prophet and we’re always interested to see something that bucks a trend in an established industry, demonstrating that real steps are being taken towards sustainability in an area that you may not expect.

One such industry is casino gaming, spanning land based, online and mobile action. One of the best things that a casino operator can do nowadays in terms of putting forth a positive image is to shout about their sustainability plans and many of them do just that. Fortunately, it is more than just a public relation exercise and many big brands are going out of their way to continue to offer their core services and games while also caring about the environment.

Sustainability at Land Based Casinos

The most obvious candidates for improvements are land based operators. While the first thing to come to mind is the large casinos in Las Vegas, complete with all of their neon lights and sprawling buildings, they are far from being the only ones to make a contribution to overall sustainability within the industry.

One of the core steps being taken is perhaps the most obvious one, that being a reduction in the amount of electricity used. The big casinos are all about providing an entertainment experience and lighting, bold games and other power hogs have always been a core part of this. However, the gaming industry has long been particularly receptive to the idea of making a change rather than sticking to what they know, and great strides have been taken.

Some casinos, especially in Vegas, are so brightly lit that they can easily be seen when coming in to land and recent technological advancements have ensured that it is possible to achieve the same effect in a much more environmentally friendly way. Something as simple as using eco-friendly bulbs to achieve the same effect is one that many casinos have worked towards and the slot machines themselves now often come with energy ratings in many markets in the same way as a refrigerator or any other electrical item. An environmentally conscious casino manager will take this into account when choosing games and so it makes perfect sense for the manufacturers to make their cabinets as efficient as possible.

The industry has even made reductions and changes to materials used as part of day to day operations. Some could argue that the end goal here is as much about efficiency as sustainability, but even incidental savings are something worthwhile.

Paper receipts and loyalty cards are increasingly being replaced by electronic alternatives, vastly cutting down on waste, and even playing cards, which can last less than a day in busy casinos, have now switched to production using recycled materials. While one deck of cards may not sound like much, when you consider just how many cards are played through on any given day, the savings are more impressive than they may seem.

Responsibility at Online and Mobile Casinos

The practice of delivering an online or mobile casino gaming experience may be vastly different to its land based equivalent, but the benefits to the operator and of course to the environment itself are massively important. These casinos offer gaming from a central location, and many of the best online brands and casino apps make use of servers that work in accordance with their own eco-friendly policies. One of those sites is App Casinos. Cloud based solutions, for example, are not only extremely secure but can also reduce server costs and operational expenses. When housed in an environmentally friendly location, power costs are lower and the player experience is by no means negatively affected.

The responsibilities of interactive gaming operators extend further than this too and promoting responsible gaming can be every bit as effective as reducing a carbon footprint. One operator that goes out of its way in this manner is Mr Green with its Green Gaming policy – perhaps the most outstanding corporate responsibility scheme in the industry right now. A dedicated section of their site covers limits, assistance and everything else to position it as one of the most experienced brands around. It also certainly helps that they are behind some of the best online games and one of the most enjoyable mobile casino apps in the industry, always ranking highly when it comes to mobile casino reviews.

So, while the gaming industry may seem to be all about the profits, they are also at the cutting edge of providing an environmentally friendly service. This bodes well for future developments in all industries and those that enjoy a dabble in offline, online or even mobile gaming can do so safe in the knowledge that they can do so without worrying about jeopardizing their personal eco-friendly goals.