Nevada gaming authorities are preparing to stimulate the casino industry through a new process aimed at assisting game creators in testing their products. [toc]
Vegas Inc reports that the state Gaming Commission is set to meet in Carson City on Thursday. During the meeting, they will discuss a potential regulatory change that would permit a new process known as “New Innovation Beta”.
The amendments to an existing Nevada gaming regulation would bring about the change.
Reason for the regulatory changes
Casino gaming has now spread to 40 states, with Nevada striving to retain its status not only as the country’s most profitable gambling market, but also as the benchmark for regulation.
According to the suggested changes dated Sept. 8, 2016, the NIB process aims to speed up the launch of innovative gaming devices and systems linked between casinos.
NIB would be ideally suited for skill-based gambling machines.
Regulators aim to allow companies to conduct a real-world assessment of a new game at a preliminary stage in the regulatory approval process.
In essence, it enables games to bypass a more burdensome field trial. This allows manufacturers to obtain more valuable data about their games earlier.
Who decides if a game gets NIB status
The chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board has the “sole and absolute discretion” to decide whether to use the NIB process.
The chairman also possesses the “complete and absolute power to impose conditions or restrictions” on a NIB waiver “for any cause considered reasonable.”
A.G. Burnett is the current chairman of the NGCB.
What NIB games will look like on a casino floor
The regulatory proposal would allow the chairman to mandate a casino licensee to inform gamblers that the new gaming device has not yet secured final state approval.
“Under NIB, the patron will receive a notification, and depending on the device or product, there will be a separate or cordoned off area,” Burnett informed Vegas Inc.
Burnett states that if a machine involved in the NIB process encounters an issue that influences the result of a bet, the customer will be fully compensated.
The size of Nevada’s gambling machine market
According to a state revenue report, slot machine revenue reached $7.1 billion at the end of August, marking a two percent increase from the previous year.
The gaming win for the period amounted to $11.2 billion in total.
Over 60 percent of Nevada’s gaming win is represented by slot machines.
Statewide, there are approximately 150,000 slot machines. Of these, about 41,000 are located in the Las Vegas Strip area, which contributes $3 billion to the statewide slot revenue.
To attract millennials, the casino industry in Nevada is considering revitalizing gaming devices. A significant strategy is the incorporation of skill-based elements in machines.
The regulation from NIB was established about a year after Nevada regulators gave their approval for the new gambling devices, which could potentially incorporate features similar to those found in arcades.
In February 2015, New Jersey got the jump on Nevada when Atlantic City casinos were authorized for skill-based slots.
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