The world of gaming is adapting to the millennial generation, those born between 1977 and 1995, which number about 80 million.
A recent study by the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas suggests that members of this cohort known for its hardheaded practicality are less likely to respond to a casino brand than to the accruing benefits of a loyalty program.
One optimistic note: the study suggests that as customers age they spend more money on gaming. The challenge is to attract them at the outset.
The study is called “Elvis Who? Understanding, Attracting and Retaining the Next Generation of Las Vegas Customer”. It studied how casinos attracted customers in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, when Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley were the gold standard, and how they attract them now.
According to the paper “Players clubs and targeted marketing techniques which proved so effective in the 2000s are increasingly ineffective; this customer eschews the incremental loyalty that was the hallmark of this visitor. Rather the drivers of loyalty are both functional and emotional.”
The report also says, “The popular consensus is that millennials do not gamble. To an extent, this is correct, but a more accurate statement would be Millennials do not gamble, yet, or even in the same way as their parents and grandparents.”
It continues, “In a functional sense, in attracting this segment of visitor we note that there are three primary drivers in the decision-making process in choosing which property to stay in: room pricing, reputation and range of amenities. In an emotional sense, we note that the drivers of loyalty are based around concepts of community and shared experiences, rather than aspiration and service drivers.”
The generation that makes up 25 percent of the population actually visits Las Vegas more often than older people, but use it more as place for meeting family and friends rather than as a gambling hub.
Casinos are also evolving to attract the millennials with more high tech gadgetry, such as pay per play video games. They are also luring them with more shopping, entertainment and nightlife. And by giving them the opportunity to gamble using the mobile devices that they are always carrying.
Gaming companies such as G2 is working to perfect “skill-based games,” which could appeal to a younger generation as much as the old-fashioned slot machines appeal to their parents and grand parents.
