The slot machine revenue in American and in a few other places in the world have been experiencing a decrease in recent years. This can cause a major problem in the casino industry, if the issue does not get fixed soon, since most of the casino revenue comes from slot machines.
What Problem Can a Decrease in Slot Machine Revenue Cause?
A huge decrease in slot machine revenue at this point can cause a casino to have to close. The reason why is because in this current day and age, casinos make most of their money from slot machines. Also, slot machines take up a good portion of casino floors at land-based casinos.
Why Has There Been a Decrease?
Many experts in the casino industry strongly believe that the main reason as to why there has been a decrease is because overall slot machines appeal to those who are over the age of 50. Many young adults of today, are more interested in games that have a sophisticated level. Pushing a button and hoping that you win is simply not enough for the young generation coming up in today’s world. The amount of visitors to Las Vegas that take time out to gamble have decreased 15% in these last few years and the millennials gamble much less than previous generations.
In the year of 2014, millennials made up a fourth of all the Las Vegas visitors. However, during their time there only two thirds of them participated in some form of gambling which is small compared to previous generations.
What Is Being Done To Attract More Millennials?
Casinos have been finding new ways of gambling that will attract more millennials. One way they are doing this is through using GameCo. Their product that all land-based casinos are anxious to have is called the Video Game Gambling or in other words VGM. It looks to be an exciting new product. This new product will allow players to gamble on video games and their payout will be determined by their skill level. While the players are gambling against the house, they will be able to play a number of different games. The games players will be able to gamble on will be including MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena), match 3, racing, first person shooters, puzzle games, sports, and hidden object.
Why Are The Current Slots Not Interesting to Millennials?
The reason why the slots of today in general do not interest a lot of young people is because of the type of games they grew up playing and still are in this day and age. Previous generations did not grow up playing games that had a lot of technology incorporated in it. Also, they did not grow up playing games on mobile devices. Mobile devices have been playing a huge role in the gaming industry as well. The gaming industry has been incorporating mobile devices through releasing games specifically designed for those type of devices.
A lot of the young generation of today like to spend a lot of time on their mobile devices. Studies have shown that many spend around 4 hours a day on their mobile device. During those hours, usually if they are not playing a game or texting, then they are on a social media platform in that time frame.
Plus, it is crucial to factor in that many millennials grew up playing video games. There are still many who even at adult age still like to play video games from time to time.
The Impact of Modern Technology on Society
Modern technology has not only changed the casino industry, but it has changed other existing industries. All of the industries have had to find ways to adapt to the societal changes technology has caused. The industries that have not been able to adapt to the technological changes have had a struggle with being able to continue to survive. Not adapting to the current technology has caused a lot of businesses to have to close. If the casino industry does not do well at incorporating the technology of today into their games, then they will go out of business. This is why the casino industry has to develop ways to make more millennials go to the casinos as soon as possible. The millennials are the future and the casino industry is very well aware of this which is why it is already in the process of going through a major change. Throughout the years, slot machines have played a huge role in casino revenue. They make up about 70% of revenue for land-based casinos. If the popularity of slot machines continue to go down then the casino industry would lose a lot of money.