 | • Skill-based games are of more interest to MIllennials • Online gaming and eSports are booming The gambling industry is evolving and adapting. Millennials come from a generation looking for constant contact and instant gratification according to some studies, they just ‘don’t have the time’ to sit on a gaming floor enjoying the lights and sounds of the slots like generations before them. This new generation is more likely to engage in cocktail hours and live entertainment before table games and that is why an entirely new category of slot machines that engage players more like a video game are being installed across the country. These slot machines offering first-person shooter, arcade classics, and more are definitively skill-based and will allow players to expect a return based on their performance. |
The gaming capitol of the US, Las Vegas, can be a good indicator of casino trends across the nation and the growing revenue on the ‘Strip’ is coming less from gaming. In the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority’s Generational Report, Millennials (born after 1980) and Gen Xers (born 1965 to 1980) made up a combined 57% of Vegas visitors in 2015, with 9% being in town specifically for corporate events and tradeshows. These groups were also the least likely to play the slots or a hand of blackjack during their time in Las Vegas. Some 73% of visitors report that they gambled while in Vegas, though this number dropped for both Gen Xers and Millennials. Among those who did play, Millennials also averaged the least amount of time gambling and budgeted the least money for gambling.
What is the real reason? Gambling doesn’t seem to stroke the pleasure centers of Millennial brains quite like it did for generations past. Though it isn’t conclusive whether this is an evolutionary or a conditioned response, possibly due to the smartphone and social media era, the generation shift is undeniable.
This is where online gaming and eSports jump in at full force, bringing with it the instant gratification desired by so many.
eSports (electronic sports) hands players broad access to live streams and social media updates, as well as allows players to become part of a greater team, sometimes international. The flexibility to play wherever and whenever with an Internet connection and game winners being based on player skill rather than chance, have many Millennials hooked.
The more interactive and skill based the gaming is, the more appeal it brings and thus we see interactive table-top games and video game based slots making their debuts. We already see many Midwest casinos adapting to the online gaming platform and we predict that more mobile apps along with eSporting style events and side betting of these types of games will increase in the coming years
What is the real reason? Gambling doesn’t seem to stroke the pleasure centers of Millennial brains quite like it did for generations past. Though it isn’t conclusive whether this is an evolutionary or a conditioned response, possibly due to the smartphone and social media era, the generation shift is undeniable.
This is where online gaming and eSports jump in at full force, bringing with it the instant gratification desired by so many.
eSports (electronic sports) hands players broad access to live streams and social media updates, as well as allows players to become part of a greater team, sometimes international. The flexibility to play wherever and whenever with an Internet connection and game winners being based on player skill rather than chance, have many Millennials hooked.
The more interactive and skill based the gaming is, the more appeal it brings and thus we see interactive table-top games and video game based slots making their debuts. We already see many Midwest casinos adapting to the online gaming platform and we predict that more mobile apps along with eSporting style events and side betting of these types of games will increase in the coming years
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