I Nelson Rose Says Skill-Based Slot Machines Are Likely to Become Standard Everywhere
Not too long in the future, slot machines which include games of skill are going to be seen on Las Vegas gaming floors. Slot machine manufacturers like Gamblit Gaming of California continue to develop the rules for skill-based gaming machines. If developers are successful in perfecting the skill elements, the Nevada Gaming Commission is expected to vote on the new machines this October.
When that happens, casino industry experts believe the rest of the American casino industry will follow suit. I. Nelson Rose, a gaming law expert for Whittier College in Southern California, expects to see skill game slots in Atlantic City, tribal casinos, racinos, and private casino enterprises around the country.
Rose told the Dallas Morning News, “If it’s good enough for Nevada, then it’s good for everyone else.”
Nevada Legislature Approves Skill Games
Earlier this year, the Nevada legislature approved skill gaming in the state’s slot machine industry. Lawmakers in both legislative bodies were convinced by industry officials that slot machines with skill elements needed to be installed in Las Vegas. Without such machines, the gaming industry faced an unstable future.
Over the past twenty years, slot machines have generated about 70% of the gaming revenues for brick-and-mortar casinos. The lure of million-dollar progressive jackpots and the entertainment factor of licensed slots were a popular combination, despite a higher house edge than most casino games. Gaming revenues from the last couple of years have begun to show decline, though, which has worried casino owners and slots manufacturers alike.
Trends in Slots Revenues
When they began to study the numbers, industry executives began to see a correlation between age and interest in traditional slot machines. It seems millenials are less likely to gamble on the slot machines, because they do not see them as entertaining or profitable. Gamblers from Generation X are more likely to play the slots, but their numbers are not significantly higher.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority compiled numbers which show that 63% of millennials (defined as people born after 1980) who visited Las Vegas last year gambled during their stay. That number was compared to 87% percent of tourists between the ages of 70 to 90 years old. About ten percent fewer, roughly 78% of baby boomers (ages 51 to 69), gambled on the slots during their visits. Finally, about 68% of Generation X visitors, defined as ages 35 to 50, gambled while in Las Vegas.
A Sea Change in Poker Machine Gaming
Generation X was the first generation which grew up playing video games and arcade games. Millennials grew up playing more elaborate video games, while they had online games to enjoy, too. Both groups, but especially the millennials, simply do not enjoy playing slot machines, which are defined by law as games of chance.
That’s bad news for casinos.
The numbers are clear that the younger generation of Americans are simply less interested in gaming machines which offer pure games of chance. Those people want games of skill to challenge them. Even better, they want games which give them a chance to influence the outcome through skill, dexterity, and smarts.
Change or Disappear
Game desinger Greg Giuffria told the Dallas Morning News, “The next wave of people aren’t going to stand there and play slots. The industry has to change or disappear.”
Giuffria is working with his son to perfect an EGM which looks like console video games. The Giuffrias’ gaming machines have joysticks and controllers, but allow gambling to take place.
Arcade Row?
Greg Giuffria says slots row, one day in the near future, is going to look more like a 1980s or 1990s arcade than it is the gaming floor of today. He said in the same Dallas newspaper, “It’s more of an arcade experience without it being for, you know, children.”
Gaming machine companies are still not sure what the final designs are going to look like. Much speculation has surrounded the idea of a regular slots game dynamic in the main game, but augmented when a bonus mode is activated. Other designers believe the main game is going to have skill elements.
98% Theoretical Return?
When the Nevada Senate passed the skill games law in the spring of 2015, the numbers thrown around were slot machines with a base 88% expected return, but a theoretical 98% expected return for those who played with optimal skill. If so, then slot machines could become a game which rewards replay. Also, slot machine strategy books and articles would be real, instead of efforts in conning the reader (or informing the reader about con artists).
Slot machines with skill games should revolutionize the casino gaming industry. If so, then the Giuffria family and programmers from Gamblit Gaming are designing a revolution as you read this.
