The two slots machines operate differently. The Class II slot machines are common in slots parlors. They are attached to Native American Casinos or horse racing tracks. Owing to improved tech tools, Class II slot machines have become more sophisticated. So much so that casual punters have a hard time telling them apart from Class III slot machines. In many of the strategy articles about gaming machines–video poker, video keno, slot machines, etc.–we emphasize the role of the random number generator (RNG) and with good reason. The RNG is the ‘brains‘ of these machines and understanding how it works is essential.It’s essential not only in terms of developing a proper strategy and selecting the right machines but it’s also.
Understanding Vlt Slot Machines For Sale
Slot machines have been entirely based on luck for decades. Unlike blackjack or poker, they don’t offer any control over the results.
However, a new breed of skill-based slots has begun to enter casinos. These games do provide the chance to control results to a degree.
Casinos aren’t necessarily offering skill-based slot machines willingly. Instead, they see a new trend on the horizon that could leave them obsolete if slots aren’t modified.
I’m going to discuss this new trend along why it’s forcing casinos to offer new types of slot machines. But first, I’ll cover more on how skill-based and traditional slots differ.
What Do Skill-Based Slot Machines Offer that Regular Slots Don’t?
A regular slot machine works as follows:
- You make a bet
- You spin the reels
- The random number generator (RNG) comes up with a combination
- Your results are displayed on the reels
You can see that the RNG decides the spin’s fate.
Some gamblers appreciate the complete randomness of slots. They don’t like overthinking every decision and would rather take a pure gamble.
Skill-based slot machines offer something different than this traditional setup. They feature bonus rounds that involve a high degree of skill.
Scientific Game’s Space Invaders is a perfect example of these games. This slot is based on a 1978 arcade machine that was later adapted to the Atari system.
Here’s how this slot machine’s bonus round works:
- You trigger the bonus with three or more scatter symbols
- You can choose between free spins and a skill-based round
- The latter brings up a second screen that’s filled with alien invaders
- You control a small spacecraft at the bottom and shoot at the advancing aliens
The base game still plays like any normal slot. You spin the reels and await a random result.
However, the key difference is in how the bonus works. You improve your chances of winning money by becoming more skilled at the bonus round.
Millennials Aren’t Playing Regular Slot Machines
The main reason why casinos are trialing skill-based slots is that millennials aren’t playing the traditional machines.
This generation, which was born between 1981 and 1996, visits casino resorts for the bars, nightclubs, and amenities. They’ve even shown some affinity for table games like blackjack and mini-baccarat.
However, millennials just don’t play slot machines like previous generations. They’re not impressed by the fancy graphics and features of the average modern slot.
This group has grown up during a technology boom that’s seen online gaming and smartphone use spread like wildfire. Millennials can simply pull out their phone and play a wide variety of games — gambling or otherwise.
In contrast to Baby Boomers and Generation X, they didn’t grow up visiting casinos just to gamble. Therefore, millennials don’t experience the same nostalgia that older gamblers do on slot machines.
The average millennial sees slots in land-based casinos as more relics than anything. But casinos are hoping to change this trend by injecting skill into the equation.
Gambling venues in both Las Vegas and Atlantic City have rolled out this new class of slots. They hope that the combination of skill-based bonuses, cool features, and good graphics is enough to attract young players.
Getting Skill-Based Casino Games Right Is Difficult
Skill-based gaming is still in its early stages. But so far, the results have been marginal at best.
The gaming world has been offering these slots since 2015. Neither millennials nor older gamblers are flocking to these machines.
One problem is a lack of awareness. Most players don’t realize that certain slots in Vegas and AC casinos feature skill.
Another potential problem is that developers just haven’t found the right combination to draw more gamblers.
Bonuses only account for around 3-5% of total return to player (RTP). This might not be a large enough degree of control for millennials, who are used to playing skill-based video and mobile games.
One more challenge for developers is figuring out the right type of bonuses. They’re going with old arcade games for now, which is a step in the right direction.
The idea is to use simple skill-based games that don’t turn off casual gamblers. After all, a 70-year-old grandma doesn’t want to play a slot where the bonus is patterned after Call of Duty.
But herein lies another dilemma: if the goal is to attract millennials, then why focus on arcade games from the 70s and 80s?
Uncertain Future with Skill-Based Slots
Aside from all the challenges I just highlighted above, casinos and developers must also deal with a high degree of uncertainty.
In the end, they could just be wasting their time by testing out skill-based slot machines. Nothing guarantees that these games will draw young adults.
Skill-based gaming sounds like a great idea in theory. Giving players the ability to decide their own fortunes is appealing.
Tournament.com, for example, found out the hard way that there are problems associated with such gaming.
They introduced an online betting platform for Half Life and Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) in 2007. Players could gamble on their team’s success on Tournament.com.
This idea sounds amazing in theory. Competitive gamers could win money by playing the games they love.
However, successful gamers would purposely play badly to lower their rating. They could then compete against lower-rated players and guarantee themselves more winnings.
Casinos don’t face the exact same set of trials as a video game betting site. But they too must worry about if the gambling world is ready for a new concept.
What Will the Future of Slot Machines Look Like?
The same skill-based slots that we see today may or may not ultimately win players over. In this case, what will the future of slot machines be?
Obviously, I can only speculate on the matter. But future slots will likely be closer to both social gaming and console/computer games.
Social games like Angry Birds, Candy Crush, and Plants vs. Zombies have become highly popular over the years. These games walk the fine line between being both entertaining and easy enough for the average person.
Many millennials would appreciate a more-hardcore gaming experience in casinos. After all, a good CS:GO player won’t get much stimulation from shooting Atari aliens that move at a snail’s pace.
Therefore, complex video games could make their way onto casino floors. Players would gamble on their abilities in games similar to CS:GO, Call of Duty, and Halo.
GameCo is already experimenting in this category with Danger Arena. This first-person shooter involves betting on your ability to blast armored soldiers.
Conclusion
The slots world is always evolving. Once three-reel games played on mechanical drums, these machines have transformed to reflect modern gaming better.
Nevertheless, they still aren’t catching on with younger gamblers. Millennials would rather visit a casino nightclub or spa than sit on a slot machine.
The good news is that these same visitors are still spending money. The bad news is that they’re not playing the casinos’ cash cows.
The industry fully realizes that they’ll be in trouble if they don’t find something that appeals to millennials. Skill-based slot machines are the first step in figuring out what young adults want.
The jury is out on whether these games are a success. They’ve only been available in casinos for a few years and haven’t been major hits thus far.
Developers may need to tweak the subject matter for the bonuses. Their early efforts include arcade adaptations that mainly appeal to older gamblers.
Both social and complex video gaming would very likely be popular among millennials. The fact is that gambling on games like Candy Crush and Halo hits closer to home with young players.
Again, these efforts are still in the early stages. But it’ll be interesting to see the end product of what finally does attract millennial gamblers.
A video lottery terminal (VLT), also sometimes known as a video gaming terminal, video slots, or the video lottery, is a type of electronic gambling machine. They are typically operated by a region's lottery, and situated at licensed establishments such as bars and restaurants.
VLTs typically feature a selection of multiple games, primarily video slot machines and Keno. Their exact operation depends on local law: many VLTs are stand-alone devices containing a random number generator. Each terminal is connected to a centralized computer system that allows the lottery jurisdiction to monitor gameplay and collect its share of revenue. The outcome of each wager on a VLT is random. VLT operators are not able to program the total amount wagered, or payouts, through the central computer system. A minimum percentage payout usually is written into that jurisdiction's law. That percentage is realized not by manipulation of the game, but by adjusting the expected overall payout.
In some jurisdictions, VLTs do not contain a random number generator, and display results from a fixed pool controlled by the central system (in similar fashion to scratch-off lottery tickets).
Canada[edit]
VLT programs are operated in eight Canadian provinces, with the only major exceptions being British Columbia and Ontario. These machines are typically governed by the region's lottery and gaming boards, and are situated inside licensed establishments such as bars.[1] In several provinces, VLTs were deployed primarily to help counter illegal underground video gambling operations, while several (particularly those whose economies are reliant on natural resources) cited economic development as a factor in their use.[1]
VLTs were first popularized in Atlantic Canada, with New Brunswick becoming the first province to introduce them in 1990, and the other Atlantic provinces following suit in 1991. In New Brunswick, sites were initially limited to a maximum of five machines each, and they were later removed from locations that did not hold liquor licenses. Since 2002, the Atlantic Lottery Corporation has been fully responsible for all VLT operations in the province, rather than having their costs covered by private owner-operators. The ALC had already operated the VLT programs in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia since their launch, while Prince Edward Island transferred its VLTs to the ALC in 2003.[1] Quebec introduced VLTs in 1994.[1]
VLTs also began to appear in Western Canada in 1991, with Alberta trialling them during the Calgary Stampede and Klondike Days events before beginning a province-wide program the following year. Manitoba initially deployed them at rural locations only, but expanded them to Winnipeg in 1993, and the Assiniboia Downs race track.[1] Saskatchewan introduced VLTs in 1993, primarily to encourage business at establishments in smaller communities (which faced competition from out-of-province casinos, prior to the opening of several commercial and First Nations casinos in the province).[1] Saskatchewan's VLT program also includes games offering regional and province-wide progressive jackpots.[2]
To address problem gambling concerns, VLTs in Canada are typically equipped with features and restrictions as safeguards in comparison to a casino-style slot machine, including the display of a player's credits as a cash value rather than units of a denomination, on-screen display of the current time, maximum session lengths with mandatory cash-out after time expires, limits on hours of operation, no Stop button (to regulate the pace of play), wager limits, limits on the amount of cash that can be deposited during a single session, and problem gambling resources.[1] Some VLTs may also offer integrated account systems for tracking usage and setting limits on cash spent.[3] In 2012, Nova Scotia began to mandate that users enroll in an account card system known as My-Play in order to use VLTs. The government discontinued the scheme in 2014, citing its decision to allow players to register anonymously without personal information ('light' enrollment) as having defeated the purpose of the system—as many players only used the cards temporarily before disposing them. The government claimed it would save $200,000 a year by removing the system.[4][5]
Each province has imposed caps on the number of VLTs that may operate in their province, and Nova Scotia has enforced a moratorium on new VLT sites and attrition on existing sites outside of First Nations reservations (taking VLTs out of service permanently if a site closes or removes them). In the 2000s, Alberta reallocated some of its VLTs to increase the number allowed at specific sites, in effect reducing the total number of sites in operation. Some provinces also have regulations that allow individual municipalities to hold referendums to opt out of VLT operation in their communities.[1][3][6] In January 2017, Quebec announced that it would similarly re-allocate and cut its VLTs from 12,000 to under 10,000 over the next two years, including making the number of sites and machines present in a region proportional to population, and focus more on placing them in leisure venues such as billiard halls and bowling alleys to 'promote socialization and group entertainment'.[7]
The Moncton, New Brunswick-based Spielo has been heavily involved in the VLT market; it was acquired in 2004 by GTECH Corporation, which was in turn acquired by Lottomatica of Italy, which then acquired and merged with IGT in 2015.[8] Alberta and the Atlantic Lottery both deployed modernizations to their VLT networks in the early-2010s, entering into supply deals with multiple gaming vendors, collectively including Aristocrat, and the present IGT (IGT, Spielo) and Scientific Games (Bally Technologies and WMS).[9]
United States[edit]
Lotteries in the U.S. were considering VLTs as early as 1981, when a planned experiment with 20 machines by the New York State Lottery was scrapped, after the Attorney General determined they would be illegal.[10] A similar plan by the New Jersey Lottery died in 1983 after ties between state officials and VLT manufacturers raised conflict of interest concerns.[11]
The first VLTs in the country were installed in late 1983 by Bellevue, Nebraska as part of its municipal lottery. Eleven other local lotteries in Nebraska followed suit, until the state banned the devices, effective 1985.[12]
South Dakota became on October 16, 1989, the first state to adopt VLTs. In a unique arrangement with private industry, the machines are owned by private companies but monitored by the South Dakota Lottery via a centralized computer system that assures the integrity of the games. South Dakota imposes a substantial tax on the net income (gross income minus player winnings) of the games. Beginning in 1992, four attempts were made to repeal South Dakota's video lottery; all were widely rejected by public votes. Most recently, in May 2006, petitions were filed containing over 21,000 signatures in order to place the issue on the November ballot; voters again agreed to keep video lottery, by a 66%-34% margin.
Other US jurisdictions which have had legal video lottery include Oregon, South Carolina (formerly), Rhode Island, Delaware, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana and Illinois. Of these, Delaware, Rhode Island, and West Virginia formerly participated in a shared VLT game, Cashola.
The U.S. Virgin Islands also has a legalized video lottery, managed by Southland Gaming of the Virgin Islands.[13] The local governments in St. Thomas and St. John use the funds generated by the video lottery to fund various government programs on the islands; primarily focusing on educational efforts.
Racinos[edit]
In 1990, West Virginia introduced the concept of racinos when it allowed MTR Gaming Group to add VLTs to Mountaineer Race Track & Gaming Resort in Chester.
Racinos differ from traditional VLTs in that all video lottery games are played on a gaming machine.
Other states that have legalized VLTs in racinos are Delaware, Rhode Island, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia.
Non-lottery[edit]
In Montana, VLT-type poker, keno and bingo machines are legal to operate in the private sector. Since the 1970s, Montana was the first state, other than Nevada and New Jersey, to legalize machine gaming.
Keno and Bingo machines were first introduced in Montana in 1975. Although subject to legal challenge, these machines were deemed legal in 1976 after the Montana Supreme Court ruled in favor of Treasure State Games, a private company that brought the first games of this type to the state. (See Justia.com - Treasure State Games v. State of Montana)
Unlike in other states, the gaming devices are not under the jurisdiction of the state lottery. In 2011 the state legislature added another class of games, so-called 'line games', to the list of approved games.
All establishments licensed for the on-premises consumption of alcohol within the state of Montana are allowed to operate such machines provided they have the correct permits. In addition, there are some Montana establishments (such as some truck stops) that do not possess 'on-sale' licenses but hold 'grandfather' licenses allowing them to operate gaming machines.
The maximum prize awarded on these machines is $800, with a maximum bet of $2 per hand. The legal age to gamble in Montana is 18, although people under the age of 21 cannot gamble in bars.
As in Louisiana, the games in Montana are not technically part of its lottery.
Class III video lottery[edit]
Currently, only Oregon and South Dakota employ Class III gaming technology (incorporating a random number generator) into their VLT games. Oregon's VLT program was modeled upon those deployed in Canada.[1] The devices operated in Montana are also Class III machines, but as they are not connected to the Montana Lottery are technically not 'video lottery terminals'. This means that unlike any of the Class II states (which have a fixed number of winners, analogous to scratch cards), Oregon and South Dakota lottery players compete against a house edge rather than other lottery players.[citation needed] This is the same type of gaming offered in Nevada, Connecticut and Atlantic City, New Jersey as well as in the majority of tribal casinos. Currently, the state of Oregon offers its players a 91-95% payout on each of its games. South Dakota and Montana law specifies that payouts must be greater than 80%, although in reality actual payouts in these two jurisdictions are around 88-92%.[citation needed]
Most US jurisdictions do not allow VLTs and those that do have attracted the same criticism the Canadian provinces have. However, some non-players have expressed tolerance for the machines.
Other terminology[edit]
In certain jurisdictions, VLTs are known as video gaming devices (VGD) or video slot machines along with 'Video Gaming Terminal (VGT)'. Most VLTs are multi-game devices, allowing the players to select, from an on-screen menu, the game(s) they wish to play. They are also known as poker machines and fruit machines in some areas.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcdefghi'VLT Gaming in Canada'(.doc). Canadian Gaming Association. March 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- ^'Moose Jaw woman wins $1.2 million from VLT'. Regina Leader-Post. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^ abDoucette, Keith (2011-03-25). 'New VLT moratorium to continue in Nova Scotia'. iPolitics. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
- ^'Province says My-Play system unsuccessful in helping gambling addicts'. Cape Breton Post. Retrieved 2019-12-02.
- ^'John Xidos calls province's My-Play figures 'far-fetched''. CBC News. August 26, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
- ^'Provincial VLT revenues slow after four years of growth'. CBC News. March 21, 2018. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- ^'Quebec to slash number of video lottery terminals in low-income areas'. CBC News. 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
- ^'Moncton gaming company cuts 67 jobs'. CBC News. 2015-04-22. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^'Canadian lotteries infuse Nevada's slot industry with sales opportunities'. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2012-05-30. Retrieved 2020-03-06.
- ^'Video lottery plan scrapped'. New York Times. via LexisNexis. September 11, 1981. p. B6. Retrieved 2012-06-02.(subscription required)
- ^Asher, James (March 6, 1983). 'Bets are off: Many say politics killed New Jersey's high hopes for video lottery'. Philadelphia Inquirer. via NewsBank. Retrieved 2012-06-02.(subscription required)
- ^Sutton Jr., William W. (March 17, 1985). 'A bet on video games pays off for one town'. Philadelphia Inquirer. via NewsBank. Retrieved 2012-06-02.(subscription required)
- ^Video lottery information page
External links[edit]
- VLTs: Nova Scotia's Billion Dollar Gamble An investigative website on VLTs in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia prepared by University of King's College students.