The latest crop of slot machines has been big news in the industry, with more skill-based gameplay. The hope was that these new skill-based slots would be just what casinos needed to start attracting the younger audiences the casinos need. Many of these new slot machines have been hailed as highly innovative by the industry, but millennials are yet to take notice. However, there are those who believe that the casino industry isn’t being innovative enough and is stuck in the past.
Slot Machines Not Innovative Enough
A conference was recently held in Las Vegas by the American Gaming Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which focused on the current trends in the gambling industry, as well as the future of gambling. The conference looked at innovation in gambling and what new ideas and technologies would have the greatest impact in the future.
The keynote speaker, Mr Rob Tercek, believes that the casino industry is severely lacking when it comes to creating the future of the industry. Mr Tercek has plenty of experience helping out various industries. He has consulted with executives from a wide range of businesses and implemented many strategic initiatives.
He argued that casino games, especially slot machines, don’t compete well with the likes of mobile games. Younger players can simply have more fun playing a mobile game on their smartphone, then any form of casino game. He also mentioned how casinos are yet to embrace virtual reality or augmented reality. He added that “To them, it (slots) looks like something that was designed in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s.”
Slot Machines Basically Unchanged
While slot machines have undergone a number of changes over the years, the basic idea behind them is unchanged from the very beginning. The very first slot used reels with symbols on it, sound familiar? While the graphics and sounds may be more modern, the basic concept is still from the very first slot machines in the 1890s. Even the latest skill-based slots suffer from this same problem.
The issue is that no one knows what the future will hold. Currently, it is impossible for casinos to get rid of slots, as they’re still the main money maker. During the last year, slot machines generated over $7 billion of revenue in Nevada alone. This accounted for 64% of all money collected by casinos in the state, so slot machines won’t be going away anytime soon.
