Airlines have gone through unprecedented challenges as a result of the global pandemic. Carriers have taken on enormous levels of debt and have only limited ability to invest in their product again. Delta CEO has even said he expects future bailouts if they’re needed. What if the solution to long-term airline solvency were right in front of us? What if it took just a tweak to one law to make happen? And we might never be stuck doling out subsidies again.
Inflight gambling would open up a new revenue source for airlines. Consumers would be entertainment. Airlines would be incentivized to install seat back video. That’s good for airline contractors, too. And partnerships could be forged by Las Vegas gaming companies who are themselves struggling, giving them access to a new captive market in the skies.
Furthermore, passengers could gamble not just with cash but with frequent flyer miles, and participation could open up a new path towards earning elite status with the airline.
We’ve experimented with inflight gaming before, but one law stands in the way of improving the flight experience and airline solvency at the same time.
Under the Gambling Devices Act of 1962 (also known as the Johnson Act, 15 USC 1171) gambling is illegal on US commercial aircraft. For 32 years, however, it was legal for foreign airlines flying to and from the U.S. to offer inflight gambling. And some have experimented with it.
- In 1981 Singapore Airlines engaged in a two month test offering slot machines on the Singapore – San Francisco route. They proved so popular that the machines in the back of the cabin caused egress and service issues, with too many passengers congregating. The light weight machines that were selected (lighter weight means less fuel burn) weren’t sturdy enough either.
In fact all seven slot machines broke on their inaugural run. Singapore Airlines revisited the idea in the late 1990s.
- Swiss tried seat-based inflight gambling in the 1990s but ended the option when the crash of Swissair Flight 111 in 1998 was linked to arcing in the wiring of the inflight entertainment system. New systems have been greatly improved over the last 20 years.
- Ryanair announced in 2005 that it would offer inflight gambling, with CEO Michael O’Leary going so far as to suggest passengers would eventually fly free with the airline making money off games of chance. The effort never came to fruition.
Today you can gamble in airports in jurisdictions where gambling is otherwise legal. And you can now place horseracing bets on your credit card.
Reno Airport Slot Machines
US-registered cruise ships got the ability to offer gambling with 1991’s United States-Flag Cruise Ship Competitiveness Act. TWA and Northwest Airlines lobbied for airlines to receive a similar exemption. However the government protected them from an uneven playing field in a different way — the Gorton amendment (49 USC 41311) prohibited gambling not just on US-registered aircraft but on any plane flying to or from the U.S. This may not be legal under US aviation treaties, but it has not been tested. Swiss operated under an exemption to the Gorton amendment.
While the Gorton amendment says that foreign airlines may not “install, transport, or operate, or permit the use of, any gambling device on board an aircraft in foreign air transportation” the FAA has said that it’s permissible for an aircraft flying to the U.S. to have an installed gambling device as long as it is deactivated for the flight.
The Department of Transportation studied inflight gambling in 1996, largely concluding it was fine, but stopping short of recommending legalizing the practice. The Clinton Administration at the time was proposing a national study on the effects of gambling. At the time that study concluded that airlines could earn $1 million per aircraft per year by offering gambling, $1.6 million in 2020 dollars or $1.3 billion per year for an 800 plane airline. (Airlines have argued that the potential economic impact is even greater than this.)
With American no longer offering seat back video on their standard domestic product, and with Southwest Airlines offering longer flights since they now serve Hawaii, it’s time to revisit the inflight gambling ban. Just as I’ve argued that advertising in lavatories could fund larger, more comfortable inflight lavs the opportunity to gamble through seat back entertainment would be a great way to encourage airlines to offer the screens.
Making flights more profitable means more routes and more flights will be offered. It means fewer airline layoffs. And it makes travel more affordable in a challenging economy, Michael O’Leary wasn’t wrong to suggest that making money from gambling in the sky supports lower airfares – more flights would mean more competition driving down those fares, but airlines would still do well because they’d make up the revenue (just as they do today through ancillary fees).
I’ve spoken with more than one vendor looking to allow customers to gamble online using their frequent flyer miles. My advice has been that airlines are fairly conservative – even if lawyers are suggesting that using their proprietary currency in this way wouldn’t run afoul of US law, they’d need to convince the Department of Transportation of this first.
Actually legalizing inflight gambling and we’d likely be able to gamble with miles, not just cash. Delta has gone the farthest of the major carriers fixing a value on their miles, being willing to effectively admit that they are worth a penny apiece.
And they’ve also done the most to sell non-flight products and services with their miles (they’ve even publicly mused about the possibility of redeeming miles for haircuts). Miles as a gambling currency seems natural.
Who wants to bet on airline profitability? If they could make money on our gambling they’d compete for our business with a better product, too.
You’re foolish if you think ANY of that additional revenue will be used to improve pax experience. It will simply go back to shareholders while diminishing already shitty levels of pax comfort. What a dumb, dumb idea.
If gambling is justified on the basis of making money for the airlines, how about selling porn online?
Currently, passengers already gamble….gamble in making the connecting flight, gamble in getting overhead space for luggage, etc.
There’s enough hostility onboard aircraft these days without adding the sore losers that lost a bundle at their seat gambling. No thanks.
We already don’t have enough problems with angry passengers due to alcohol, and now we want upset passengers due to losing money?
Might as well schedule some “weed” flights so people will just inhale it all flight. Of course you need to isolate the pilots. And load up extra snacks that you can charge more for.
You gamble with your life every time you set foot on a United flight. Hopefully they won’t beat the crap out of you and throw you off the plane in Chicago.
Woah. And what flight attendant union is going to want inflight gambling? My wager is on NONE.
We already gamble that we’d actually be able to use our airline miles for anything good so why not?
What if you have a gambling addict in a long-haul airline seat facing 10 hours of a slot machine in front of them with nothing to do but eat airline food and drink? Just a thought. This doesn’t even mention those that hold gambling as a sin and would think less of the airline from moral regard. Why not have strippers for example? Hey, I know the flight attendants could just offer lap dances 🙂 Who doesn’t want a lap dance from the 60-year-old cranky UA shop steward FA?
I do agree that it’s an interesting idea and frankly think it should be allowed once the aircraft is away from local airspace like over the Atlantic much like cruise ships.
@ Gary — Nothing will stop American corporations or citizens from asking for bailouts. America has become a joke with all the handouts. Maybe people and companies should go back to taking risk for reward and filing bankruptcy when it doesn’t work out.
slow news day
Gary, you’ve jumped the shark on this. Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea. Acohol and gambling don’t mix well, especially in a small metal tube.
Definitely the worst idea ever.
Help airlines?
…and by usurping what’s left of customer’s discretionary income?
Today’s special offer for those who sign up for the Spirit Air Lines credit card is a free Electric Lemonade BuzzBall and $15 match play on our in flight slots!
We should be able to place bets on if we’ll receive PDBs and the over/under on arriving on time
Even where gambling is legal there are rules about exposing children to it.
On an airplane I don’t see how you can avoid exposing children to this vice and maybe even having them take part.
Let’s be honest, AA would just add it as a feature on the “use your own device” module rather than spend money to put IFE back
I’m guessing this article is a huge joke. I’ve lost a lot of respect for the articles Gary writes. Gambling in the air sounds great for reducing air rage. This idea goes along Gary recommending JetBlue shut down their airline and out 10s of thousands of people out of jobs. Lots of genius ideas on here.
I think we should all be thankful Gary is not in airline management.
This is literally the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard.
@John
Those rules about kids are just as bad as any gambling prohibitions. It comes down to freedom. The issue should not be whether gambling is good but whether airlines should be able to offer services they want. The answer is obviously yes. Freedom should always reign. Let airlines and passengers decide if they want to offer and fly with gambling.
@Everyone
You complain about the potential for gambling on planes but ignore lgbt propaganda in schools where teachers are grooming 6 year old children. Gambling is a fun thing most people do. We don’t see any prohibitions on kids watching their parents or adults drink in a restaurant or baseball stadium.
I really don’t want to sit next to the young guy who has had a couple of cocktails and who has a bad streak at the card table. Too many bozos out there who would be absolutely insufferable as seat mates. It’s why I also oppose allowing in-flight phone calls – I don’t want to be sitting shoulder-to-should with anyone yammering on the phone for six hours. Absolute misery.
They make book on anything.
The odds that mask mandates will return.
The odds that Trump will be convicted of passing intelligence information about Israel to Putin.
What an stupid idea, such a thing could put everyone’s lives at risk, especially the flight attendants.
Perhaps AA can tie this into Loyalty Points including inflight slots as part of your annual spend. Concierge Key for EVERYONE, including all the retired cart riders at your local slots.
In flight gambling
Luggage Roulette
Casinos need security quite often for reasons not always related to cash management.
Losing money and being drunk can make some people become more moody. That’s not good for peace in the cabin.
Winning money can make some people more excitable, and that too can be bad for peace in the cabin.
Gambling — which provides government with additional revenue in various ways — increases the power of the state and acts as a worse drain on the finances of those who are already on the side of being worse off than average. But since airlines are already in the business of fleecing the public, this should be right up their alley.
Really bad idea. I would personally seek out the non-gambling airlines and non-gambling flights. The passenger experience might be better for the occasional person who wins money, but will be worse, and maybe much worse, for everyone else. Get us to our destination safely and preferably on time, and we can gamble there if we want to.
Yeah, an airline that has no clue where it’s planes, baggage or employees are is going to be to operate a gambling operation. I totally trust them.
I’m with Derek – let’s have the flight attendants making fresh content for their OnlyFans pages at least once per flight – make that a condition of employment and a union rule.