A legislative bill backed by Nevada’s gambling equipment manufacturers that would allow slot machines to add a skill-based, arcade-style element has been approved by both legislative houses in the U.S. state, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper.
Senate Bill 9 was proposed by the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers. Following approval from both legislative houses, the bill has now to be signed by Nevada governor Brian Sandoval.
The newspaper said the idea is to create slot machines that have elements of skill and other features in order to attract younger gamblers. According to the bill, the Nevada Gaming Commission will have to draft regulations allowing the development of technology into the games.
A key theme at the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) casino industry trade exhibition in Las Vegas last year was how casino game makers and casino operators can attract so-called ‘Millennials’ as customers.
It is a term used by marketing professionals to describe people who came to young adulthood around the year 2000. Now in their 20s and early 30s they typically have more disposable income than do currently their predecessors – known as Generation X.
David Chang, chief marketing officer of Gamblit Gaming LLC, a technology provider for online and interactive digital entertainment, said at a conference session during G2E that the demographic group typically have a shorter attention span, a greater desire for interacting via social media and a greater capacity or at least preference for doing several things at once, than the generations before them.
“We remain interested in the direction(s) that gaming suppliers are taking in skill-based gaming and even online/social gaming as operators and manufacturers alike continually seek to reach the evolving customer base,” said Union Gaming Research LLC in a note in September previewing G2E.
The latest Asia-Pacific edition of the trade event – G2E Asia 2015 – will be held from May 19 to 21 inclusive, at Cotai Expo at the Venetian Macao.
