Skill-Based Gambling an Evolution in Gaming

Skill-based gambling represents an interesting advancement in the industry, by returning to some of the old tried-and-true 1970s arcade brands. With its legalization in 2015, skill-based gambling is now seeing the roll-out of its first gaming systems, primarily in California, Nevada and New Jersey. This could be revolutionary and attract a whole new generation of young gamblers to offline casinos.

Skill Based Gambling Characteristics

Aren't all professional gamblers, skilled? A professional gambler has developed a certain proficiency, which allows him/her to earn a regular income. When people think of a professional gambler, they are usually thinking of a poker player.

Realistically, poker is a combination of “skills” and “luck” already. One of the primary skill based only games is chess. Everyone has the same odds of winning a chess match.

Lady Luck Need Not Apply

In 2015, Nevada passed a law permitting real skill-based games to be added to casino floors. The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers (AGEM) described these as skill-based gaming, arcade-game elements, hybrid games and other technologies. You could include adventure, shoot-em-up and virtual reality (VR) in that description.

Why now?

The truth is that the traditional gambling sites – Las Vegas and New Jersey – have been losing customers to the best web casinos. There has been a battle raging for the title of the “most popular casino, ” and so far, Las Vegas is not winning.

Fewer young people visit Vegas. The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority reported traffic for visitors aged 20 to 39 years old was down in 2016. In 2014, there were 18.1 million visitors; in 2016, there were only 14 million visitors.

Online casino games are more interactive, with more developed story lines and a wider variety of controls than traditional slots. Heretofore, the states had simply tried to ban online gambling; but guess what, that does not work.

People are so adept nowadays, that they can simply find another top online casino. There is no overall authority to rule the Internet. There is too much money to be made in gambling.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!

So, finally, the offline gambling destinations in Nevada, New Jersey, and California have realized that they should start to add the same classical arcade and electronic “shoot 'em up” games, found on the Internet. Skill-based gambling is meant to increase traffic by bringing back some of the “tried-and-true” arcades and mixing them with a more modern Social Media atmosphere.

Electronic games stalwarts, such as Konami, have offered up their expertise, along with new skill-based gambling firms, Gamblit Gaming, and GameCo. The financial stakes are quite high.

Welcome to Las Vegas!

Konami is planning on diversifying its holdings to take advantage of the new skill-based gambling opportunity. It can easily transform its gaming brands library to this new phenomenon. For example, the Las Vegas MGM Grand has added skill-based Frogger machines to its LEVEL UP gaming lounge.

Gamblit Gaming & Caesar's have a national agreement to roll out its Model G table with “Cannonbeard's Treasure,” Virtual reality cube (VRC) and Tri-Station to casinos. The Model G game allows 4 x players to compete to make the best hand, using a touchscreen to “grab” the next card. The Tri-Station has numerous games, such as “Catapult King,” “Lucky Words” and “Into the Dead,” which you could imagine in many local bars or clubs.

The VRC uses the HTC Vive headset to allow a player to fight monsters. He can move around in a small space and spectators can bet on the results. Already, during testing at conventions, the Gamblit VRC has been a “centerpiece to attract healthy-sized crowds.” Now, casinos want to attract wealthy young crowds to their facilities.

Welcome to the New Era of Gambling: Skill-Based!

The beauty of this skill-based gambling strategy is that most people are already playing these games on arcades, mobile phones or Social Media. Would you like to play your favorite television, movie or athletic game and make money? Are you a Star Trek fan?

GameCo has signed Star Trek to create a skill-based gambling video market based on its Star Trek Deep Space Nine Adventure. You can engage in ship-to-ship combat on the USS Defiant. GameCo plans on adding “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” and “Ferris Bueller” too. The cross-branding marketing potential is astounding.

Social Media Skill-Based Gambling

Young people like to share their experiences, and this skill-based gambling creates a new, energetic social milieu for younger people in the casinos. It is just the monetization of the great arcade and pinball games of the 1970s. Make some money, have fun and feel like you are playing online casino games, offline.