Innovation in land-based casinos is incredibly hard to come by.
Innovation tends to come in five- to six-year cycles, with slot machine manufacturers mostly focusing on hardware and software, rather than bringing unique player experiences to the casino floor. They tend to prioritize hardware development over creating new and innovative games.
Once installed at the property, retail slot machines have a pretty long lifespan, and during that time, very little can be changed on the machine.
Sure, some software updates can be made, but the game remains the same, and the core functionality of the cabinet and the experience offered to the player are fixed, too.
Unlike the online casino world, where the pace of change is rapid, for land-based casinos, things move forward at a much slower cadence.
But this makes it incredibly difficult to keep up with changing trends and player preferences.
For example, when the machine is installed, Hold & Win slots might be popular, but 18 months later, players want to play slots with Cascading Reels.
The issue is that retail casinos simply don’t have the flexibility to adapt and capitalise – once a slot machine is in place, it’s there for the long term.
Why the pace of change is slower in the retail space:
But why is the pace of change slower in the retail casino space?
The first reason is that slot machine cabinets are expensive and, once installed, operators need to keep them on the casino floor for a set period of time.
What’s more, hardware has been designed to stand the test of time, so the lifecycle of a machine is much longer than it used to be.
For example, digital screens have replaced physical mechanisms, so ongoing maintenance is less and the cabinet lasts longer because it has fewer parts to break down.
Then there’s the certification process, which can be more complex than for online slot games, with any changes required for compliance much harder to implement – this makes localisation in the land-based space a real headache, too.
How this impacts retail casinos and the player experience:
The impact this lack of flexibility is having is pretty significant, with land-based casinos falling behind their online counterparts in terms of the games and experiences offered to players. Since the pandemic, there has been a major global shift towards online casinos. The trend is clear worldwide: online casinos are growing, while land-based casinos are stagnating or even declining.
Sure, retail casino players are drawn in by more than just the slot machines they can play – they enjoy the unique atmosphere of the casino floor and the chance to play alongside others.
But it is still important for land-based casinos to stock their gaming floors with the slot machines that players actually want to play – if we don’t, players will stop walking through our casino doors.
For those that do keep coming, we are unable to offer them the variety they would find at an online casino or the connection to games they already play and love online.
And this means retail casinos are missing out on opportunities to acquire new customers and on elevating the experience for those already engaged with the brand and property.
The solution is simple – on paper, at least:
So, what’s the solution? Retail casino operators need to be able to bring new content with a higher degree of player identification to their gaming floors and not have to wait months or even years to do so.
What they need is to be able to import games to the slot machine cabinets installed on the gaming floor in an instant.
This would allow casinos to ensure the games offered match player preferences, keep pace with new innovations and trends.
It would also allow them to launch more exclusive and bespoke content, and even take risks with new concepts, formats and mechanics as they could be easily swapped out if they don’t hit the mark.
It would be a real breakthrough for retail casinos, allowing them to catch up to the experience offered online, especially in terms of game variety and meeting changing preferences.
But it requires deep technical innovation to deploy:
At Swiss Casinos, we don’t accept that something must be the way it is and have been working hard on an internal project and solution that will allow us as an operator to do what I have described above
In short, it will allow us to stream games to the slot machine cabinets located across our four casinos and even give players the option to play several titles on a single machine.
The solution is now fairly advanced in terms of development and deployment and is just awaiting the necessary certifications to introduce it across our casino properties and gaming floors.
Once we get the green light to do this, it will change the game for our players and really elevate the experience they get with Swiss Casinos.
The solution is highly innovative in itself, but it also allows us to bring innovative content and experiences to the casino floor at pace, and that’s what makes it truly game-changing.
