A bill in a Nevada Senate committee would pave the way for regulators to approve new games incorporating skill as a main outcome driver. The bill, currently before the state Senate Judiciary Committee, is designed to promote the type of skill-based video games many feel are needed to attract a younger demographic to casinos.
In an interview with the Las Vegas Sun, state Senator Greg Bower, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said traditional slot machines do not target that young demographic. “The younger demographic is just interested in a different type of gaming than the older demographic—that was used to, and is still comfortable with, the traditional slot machine and video poker machine,” Bower said.
In a separate interview with the newspaper, Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett said the days of people “rushing to play the slots” are gone. “Now have come the days of huge, integrated resorts offering hundreds of entertainment options found nowhere else on earth, from the finest dining and entertainment anywhere to clubs that cater to a younger demographic,” Burnett said. “So everyone recognizes that gaming must keep up, and to do that, the old style of slots simply needs to change… This means adding skill and social elements to the slot mix.”
In addition to the spread of free-to-play social casino games—many linked to land-based casinos and their marketing programs—some casinos have taken the first step toward this new style of game. Lounges and nightclubs at the Mirage and MGM Grand in Las Vegas have added InteractivePro tables, which feature integral 42-inch screens on which guests can gain access to social media, check on fantasy sports teams, watch television and use a “virtual concierge” to make restaurant reservations, purchase show tickets or book rooms using their player’s club points.
MGM officials say the plan is to add real-money gambling to the tables by the end of the year, and if the skill-games bill becomes law, those games could resemble the video games younger players grew up playing.
