Report on Recent Developments in the Gambling Industry
It now looks that the competition in the casino industry is intensifying. Recently, it was announced that Scientific Games is forming a 5-year strategic partnership with Gaming Realms to produce Slingo slot machines and distribute them to land-based casinos. With a new license, Scientific Games will make new slot games for gambling machines at traditional casinos. Also, the licensing includes video lottery terminals and handheld devices.
While Scientific Games is more on the hardware side, Gaming Realms is the software and content side. These two companies have partnered before. Under the previous agreement, Scientific Games was able to produce scratch lottery tickets that became very successful as they generated over a billion dollars in sales in the United States.
When it comes to the gaming industry, Scientific Games is one of the industry leaders. Under WMS brand, the company provides games and electronic gaming machines to the casinos. Their other brand, Bally, also provides gaming machines and game content in addition to computerized monitoring, player-tracking-systems, and computerized monitoring. Meanwhile, their Shuffle Master is a product that automatically shuffles cards, sorts roulette chips, and provides systems for live table games, including multi-player game platforms. This company also provides lottery systems on a global basis.
On the other hand, Gaming Realms is a company that specializes in game development for casino betting as well as social gaming. This company also focuses on mobile games. Additionally, gaming analytics are provided. What’s more, their platform allows for the integration of diverse games.
The gaming industry is surely changing. The land-based casinos are no longer the dominant players. These traditional establishments first had to face competitive pressure from Internet-based casinos. Now, with the advent of smartphones, mobile gaming is becoming increasingly popular.
At this point, some traditional casinos are entering online and mobile gambling segments by opening their own online casinos. And doing so isn’t that complicated anymore. There are industry players willing to power these digital casinos with hundreds of various games such as online slots, table and card games, or even virtual scratch cards, bingo, and keno.
Some other companies seek to become one-stops for online and mobile players by providing casino games, online sports betting, and even ways to bet on financial markets (such as currencies, stock indices, and commodities) via binary options. Another growing trend is providing online bettors with the ability to play with others and a dealer in real time via so-called Live Casinos.
But, at present, technology isn’t enough- much depends on attracting new customers in this competitive market. There is still space for traditional casinos. The successful ones are based in attractive locations, including Las Vegas and Macau, while offering resort-style accommodations and live entertainment by stars.
The fact is modern day players have many options. Let’s say, you want to play poker. So, you can go to a land-based casino, play video poker online, or participate in online poker tournaments. And that can be done even on the go with your smartphone in hand.
