Attracting younger players to brick-and-mortar casinos is no longer as simple as including a swanky nightclub alongside a gaming floor. More often, younger customers are seeking out entertainment experiences where they can engage with creative content, be immersed in a unique experience and, oh yeah, maybe gamble a bit.
Using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool to not only determine what the customer wants, but also as an integral part of the experience is the future of gaming, said Thomas Hoskens, business development leader at DLR Group, Suzanne Leckert, co-founder and managing partner of Convergence Strategy Group, and Tyler Othen, director of CSL International at the recent Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las Vegas.
A study by Eventbright found that 78 percent of Millennials preferred to spend money on experiences, rather than things. This preference led to 4.5 percent annual growth from 2010-20 in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
To put that growth into context, Leckert noted that visits to experience-based sites like POST Houston (1.7 million per year), TopGolf Las Vegas (1.04 million per year) or Illuminarium Atlanta (57,000 per year) continue to grow while casino visits average between 500,000 to 5 million per facility per year. Within casinos, experienced-focused events such as the Bellagio’s Conservatory & Botanical Gardens or the Illuminarium at Wynn Palace Macau or traveling exhibits such as the Van Gogh Exhibition: The Immersive Experience and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition can bring in audiences who might not have considered a casino a destination location.
Experiential-Focused Content Differs
Hoskens, Leckert and Othen broke down casino experiences into three categories: Mainstays (arenas, concert venues, event centers, restaurants and retail), The Buzz (eatertainment, sports betting, immersive experiences and creation destinations) and The Future (digital immersion, immersive worlds, mixed reality sports and participatory sports and multisensory dining). Each experience can be optimized further through the use of AI to create unique opportunities.
For instance, in mainstay experiences, placemaking by paying homage to the local area or in a unique facility that doubles as an experience like Sphere in Las Vegas adds to the experience. Placemaking takes advantage of a location’s assets to create publicly accessible spaces that improve overall vitality and well-being.
“We can use experiences to pull in a younger generation for more than just gaming dollars,” said Leckert. Once people are inside a facility for that immersive experience, the exposure to the gaming space beckons.
Using AI to Design Spaces
Artificial intelligence can help in the design process, in automation for ticketing or even in the use of heat mapping to determine areas of congregation. This helps operators determine where an experiential event could be the most beneficial.
AI can analyze and compile property data to find what sticks with patrons, Leckert said. It can be a design tool that can speed up the experiential event design and engineering process, but always with the human eye making the final checks.
Othen suggested using AI to evaluate market data when determining experiential events. Using cell phone tracking tools like Placer.ai, operators can see the demographics of experiential event visitors and compare the information to similar locations or locations that held a similar event. Othen outlined how a client used the mobile phone tracking information from a mixed martial arts event at a rival casino to decide if they should also present MMA as well.
Using that location analysis, operators can determine if an experiential concept would work for them. And using local knowledge helps guide the mountain of technological data at hand, allowing the human touch to make the ultimate decision.
