The growing use of so-called ‘smart tables’ for traditional casino table games in the Macau market and beyond – offering the potential for player-data acquisition as well as game security – was “quite a big change” for the industry, said Simon Johnson (pictured), senior vice president and managing director – international, at casino technology firm Light & Wonder Inc (L&W). He was speaking on Tuesday in an interview with GGRAsia.
Electronic gaming machines (EGMs), including electronic table games of the sort supplied by Light & Wonder and its market competitors – whether fully automated or with a live dealer –, are already recognised for their ability to deliver a high number of decisions per hour, and to generate betting and bet settlement without errors.
Mr Johnson stated, regarding the growth of traditional-table ‘smart’ play: “We need to take [that] into account as we think about our development roadmaps and about the future of our tables.”
Making data-acquisition and data-driven gaming a trend in Asia Pacific and beyond, was nonetheless an opportunity for the industry as a whole, the executive noted.
He stated: “Where the smart table concept does start to change the game is that it massively increases the kind of data and information that the operator can receive about what’s going on at that [particular] table, how the players are playing; the situational information is exponentially improved.
“And it starts to be of a similar quality, maybe even better than historically the data you see on EGMs or on a slot machine,” he noted.
Though Mr Johnson said such technology’s potential should not distract the industry. The latter’s role was to deliver entertainment to consumers.
“What people [consumers and operators] are looking for is well thought-through, well-constructed games that understand player preferences, that look at how people are staking, how people are playing, how they’re drawn by the various jackpots and progressives” offered by the play, he observed.
In terms of Asia-Pacific markets, Macau is “enormously important” to Light & Wonder, and the Philippines – currently growing in terms of of venues and deployment of gaming machines – “is always going to be important,” said Mr Johnson.
“The challenge of somewhere like Asia is never to be too distracted by the large markets,” and ensure all markets are well served, he added. “Of course you have to service them [key markets] and mind them and understand exactly what your customers need and make sure that you are ahead of the curve in executing against that requirement.”
Earlier this month, Light & Wonder reported that gaming-segment sales in Asia and Australia had boosted first-quarter revenue.
