Forget slot machines and money wheels. American casinos may soon look more like video game arcades.
In February, Nevada and New Jersey passed legislation allowing for the introduction of skill-based games in casinos as a way to draw in younger players. Imagine Angry Birds and Candy Crush machines next to a high-stakes poker table at Bellagio.
The idea is that one day, different types of skill-based games will exist on casino floors, including games that look and feel more like console video games, from shooters to racing games.
They could be games where single players go against the house, cooperative games like blackjack, or player versus player games like poker. Eric Meyerhofer, the chief executive of
Gamblit Gaming, a California company that makes skill-based games for casinos, said the biggest attractions could even be well-known franchises like
Call of Duty.
“It won’t be a sea of slot machines. You’ll see smaller, more intimate areas with specialized themes,” he said.
Dr. Tony Alamo, the chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission, said the speed with which the legislation to introduce skill-based games in Nevada passed — it was
introduced in January 2015 and was signed in June the same year — is a testament to how hungry the casino industry is for something new. “Everyone feels the urgency,” he said. “I’m hoping that next year, the whole floor will be full of these games.”
It seems not even the gambling industry was prepared for how quickly things moved. Dr. Alamo said that so far, he had seen products from only two slot machine manufacturers. “We are waiting, and we are here, our arms are open. We want to see product,” he said.
Tom Mikulich, senior vice president of business development at MGM Resorts International, which owns a number of Las Vegas casinos and resorts, including Aria, Bellagio, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and The Mirage, said the company was “excited” to attract a younger demographic of players and hoped to introduce various skill-based and arcade-style games inside its casinos by the end of this year.
As casino hotels and resorts have steadily upgraded their amenities in the last decade to appeal to a wider demographic, the unintended consequence is that fewer people are actually gambling.
