The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) is considering whether gambling machines made to look and play like real video games are a good fit for the state’s casinos.
The commission has released draft regulations that could put video and arcade-style slot machines into Massachusetts casinos. The move is intended to attract a younger generation of gamblers, who have been found to gamble less in favor of other casino offerings like nightclubs.
Executive director of the Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers Marcus Prater said that the so-called “skill-based” slot machines are meant to appeal to millennials who tend to skip over traditional machines because they see them as old-fashioned.
“This is something totally new,” Prater said. “Players have never had the option, in any market in the world, to influence the outcome of the game.”
Of course, the idea met with disapproval from anti-gambling activists concerned that the machines could be more addictive than normal slots because they blur the line between children’s games and wagering.
Christopher Moyer, spokesman for the American Gaming Association, said there’s no evidence suggesting that such games would be more addictive than current machines.
The proposed rules are modeled on skill-based slot regulations approved by the Nevada Gaming Commission in September. New Jersey also has skill-based gaming laws in place. Policymakers in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and other states have discussed the machines.
Wynn Resorts and Penn National Gaming, two of Massachusetts’s licensed casino operators, said they’re reserving comment on the regulations until they’ve had a chance to review the draft proposal.
Plainridge Park’s gambling revenues improved in January
MGC reported on Tuesday that Plainridge Park Casino collected $12.5 million in gross gaming revenue in January, an unexpected rebound during a month that is traditionally slow for gambling in the northeast United States.
The number is up from about $11.3 million in December.
The slots parlor and harness racing track has seen a steady decline in monthly revenues since opening in late June. Its peak was in July, when it posted $18.1 million in gross gambling revenues.
