Tag Archives: Disney

DISNEY COMPITING WITH CASINOS

Florida’s government and lawmakers, like the government in other States, are once again bringing the focus of the political and media influence to the topic of opening the State to casino resorts and gambling houses. And again, like many times in the past, they have found a strong opposition in The Walt Disney Company.

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The battle between the gambling sector and the most famous entertaining company has been on permanently ever since the conversations about opening the State to gambling.

Disney World is definitely the biggest touristic attraction in Florida, and one of the top ones in the whole world. And probably the most valuable brand and image. So Florida can not afford to bother the relations between The Walt Disney Company and the government of Florida. The relationship between the State of Florida and The Walt Disney Company was born in 1971, with the opening of The Disney World, one of the pioneer projects in the world of the leisure mega centers. Its been a very fruitful and productive relationship for both parts, so its not hard to understand that The Walt Disney Company has a lot of strength when it comes to these important decisions.

However, lawmakers and institutions pro gambling are accusing Disney of acting with hypocrisy. The fact is that Marvel had signed some agreements in the past with slot machine developers to create games based in popular characters like Spider Man. And who owns the rights of Marvel comics since 2009? Yes, Disney. However, Disney spokesman has declared firmly that no new agreements have been made ever since they got back Marvel. Gambling institutions are a bit worried that Disney will not renew the old agreements with Marvel, so soon they will have to retire some of the most famous and fruitful games, with characters like Spider Man, The Avengers, Hulk or Captain America.

Its going to be a tough battle. And most analysts see Disney as a winner, because they have more power when it comes to lobbying. And they also think that Disney has a point when saying that Florida has been always labeled as a family destination, not just because Disney World, but also because Sea World, one of the biggest marine parks in the world, opened in 1988.