Atlantic City casinos are about to get their first taste of skill-based slot machines.
On Wednesday night, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement gave New York-based startup GameCo the green light to start deploying its new video game gambling machines (VGM) on the casino floors of Caesars Entertainment’s three AC properties, according to the Associated Press.
GameCo has been planning to install 21 gaming positions in “high-traffic, prominent locations” at each of the three Caesars’ properties. There will be three triple-unit carousels at Caesars Atlantic City, two at Harrah’s Resort and two more at Bally’s. The VGMs will still have to undergo testing, which is expected to be completed in a couple of weeks, before they can be deployed.
The go signal from New Jersey’s gambling regulators marks a shift to a new era of gambling in the United States—one that is aimed at attracting the younger demographics who grew up playing video games. GameCo’s VGMs are “officially the first skill-based video game gambling product approved by any U.S. gaming jurisdiction regulator,” according to CEO and co-founder Blaine Graboyes.
Aside from GameCo, Gamblit is also eyeing to put its own video game machines at Caesars-owned casinos in California and Nevada in October. IGT and NanoTech Gaming are also working to put out their own versions of the product.
GameCo’s first game will be a first-person action game, titled “Danger Arena.” Players will be presented with a random game scenario and the payout will be determined by how many robots one manages to vanquish along the way, although GameCo claims the VGM will maintain “the same casino economics as slot machines.”
The games offer a secondary random winning opportunity, allowing players—especially those who are poorly skilled—to possibly win “instant cash” from $1 to $5,000.
Each game also includes a secondary random winning opportunity, with a possible instant cash win ranging from $1 to $5,000, Graboyes added, so that even poorly skilled players have a chance at winning, he said.
The past several weeks have seen Gamblit announce a flurry of new signings to “gamblify” game developers’ products. The startup recently inked a deal a deal with Halfbrick Studios to add real-money gaming elements to its Jetpack Joyride adventure title, which is scheduled to hit casino floors in late 2017.
