Casinos are undergoing a revolution, shifting from traditional slot machines to skill-based gaming tournaments. The rise in this trend reflects a change in consumer behavior and a drive towards the appealing immersive experience offered by digital screens over old-fashioned printed play tickets. Accompanying this is a profound shift from reliance on luck to a focus on players’ knowledge, strategy, and skills that can significantly increase their winning chances.
Casino floors, traditionally dominated by the clinking coins of slot machines, are evolving to include a growing trend: skill-based gaming tournaments. These new offerings are coming into play in casinos across the country, signaling not just a shift in casino culture, but also reflecting a broader change in consumer behavior.
Printed play tickets are gradually being replaced by hands frenetically swiping across digital screens – a sight not unheard of on Vegas strip. But what’s important to note here isn’t just this apparent shift from slots to screens, but a subtler, more profound transformation – the shift from games of chance to games of skill.
As a response to dwindling interests in traditional slot machines, especially among younger, digitally adept audience, casinos are reinventing themselves to offer skill-based tournaments. These tournaments involve games where, unlike slots, the outcome isn’t strictly reliant on luck. Instead, players’ knowledge, strategic decision making, and skill can significantly improve their chances of winning.
Leading the charge in this transformative movement are innovators like GameCo, a company that develops and distributes skill-based games for the casino floor. The company’s flagship offering, Danger Arena, is a first-person action game where players use a controller to shoot targets in a fixed period. Unlike traditional slots, where the odds are unequivocally stacked in favor of the house, the more you hit, the more you win in Danger Arena.
And it’s not just GameCo. Nevada had passed a bill in 2015, authorizing skill-based games on the casino floor. The move sparked a wave of innovation in the industry with an array of gaming companies designing and launching various skill-based offerings.
While it’s still early, the response has been promising. Terrestrial casinos such as Caesars and MGM have embraced this trend and have dedicated space for these game tournaments. Moreover, tribal casinos, like the San Manuel Casino in California, have configured entire areas known as ‘rock and brews,’ with skill-based offerings capturing center stage.
Simultaneously, manufacturers are working on hybrid models, games that seamlessly blend elements of luck and skills. Scientific Games, a global provider of gambling products, recently debuted its new hybrid game, Space Invaders. A revival of the iconic 1978 arcade game, Space Invaders skill-based slot features a skill-based bonus round that presumably adds elements of skill to an otherwise game of chance.
However, the journey has not been without bumps. While the idea might sound revolutionary, skeptics question whether these games of skill could bring in sufficient profit for casinos. Greg Giuffria, CEO of G2 Game Design, stated that they’ve seen mixed results with millennials and skill-based games. Many younger adults were drawn to the games, but sometimes more out of curiosity than the trunk-in-luck of an exciting win.
Nonetheless, skill-based operators remain undeterred. They are motivated by demographic shifts. As baby boomers age out of gambling, younger generations, well-versed with digital technologies and video gaming, are beginning to hold significant sway.
To cater to these digital natives, the casino industry is reinventing its offerings. Skill-based games aren’t merely an attraction or a novel offering; they are gradually becoming an imperative for the survival of the casinos.
It’s early days, but the impact is visible. No longer just a gambling den, casinos are metamorphosing into interactive entertainment destinations, where the offerings are diverse – ranging from lady luck to skills.
Sources:
1. GameCo Official Website.
2. “Nevada Governor Signs Bill Authorizing Skill-Based Games In Casinos”. Las Vegas Review-Journal.
3. “Beyond Slots: Skill Games Are The Next Step For Casino Gaming”. Forbes.
4. “Scientific Games Debuts Space Invaders Skill-Based Slot Game”. Scientific Games Press Release.
5. “Making Of A Video Gamer Gambler: The Development of Virtual Reality Casino Games”. EMH Global.
