COVID-19 slowed the momentum of skill-based games, but the industry continues to have a bright future in casinos and has emerging opportunities in iGaming, according to the CEO of Next Gaming.
Next Gaming, headed by Mike Darley, is among four leading skill-based companies in the industry that includes GameCo, Gamblit and Synergy Blue. The company, which has been licensed in Nevada, will be placing its games during the next month at Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. It recently installed its games in Oklahoma through its distributor AGS. They’re also in New Mexico; Laughlin, Nevada; and Humboldt County, California.
Those placements will provide valuable information to learn the sweet spots of the games and how they work best in various locations, Darley said. “While slowing the placement of games at first, COVID-19 is now creating opportunities within casinos for the skill-based industry,” he added.
“One of the outcomes when the virus hit and they started letting people back in casinos, social distancing and masking requirements were put into place,” Darley said. “A lot of casinos took slot products out, and the result was they found out that they don’t need so many slot machines in their casinos to drive the same amount of revenue.”
Darley noted that now there’s “a little bit more space” in casinos to accommodate a new product, and skill-based gaming can benefit from that. He’s working with casinos to advertise the games and inform guests how to play them. The longer skill-based games are on the floor and more people play them, they’re going to enjoy the experience, he said.
“What we found is there are casinos that want new products and new guests and new demographics,” Darley explained. “It will take time for skill-based games to have a population that is comfortable playing them, and when that happens, it will meet the house average and exceed it without a doubt. Skill-based games have a solid future in casinos. The games are fun and engaging.”
The skill-based industry had quite a bit of momentum before COVID-19 hit, with the four companies collaborating to push the genre forward, Darley said. Even though companies have different niches, they felt it was important to work together to create synergy and push for specific rooms for skill-based games. The group thought the games needed to be in visible, high-traffic areas to attract new customers.
It was a shock to everyone when COVID-19 hit and shut down casinos, which faced challenges that changed their operations. Companies, including Next Gaming, slowed down their development cycles and had to change how they operate as well to get through the pandemic, he said.
At the same time, one of the outcomes of COVID-19, when casinos were shuttered and people were slow to come back to properties, was an increase in iGaming. People augmented their behavior and boosted their play online for a segment worth billions of dollars.
That’s good for skill-based gaming because the younger demo plays esports online and now can expand into online play at casinos, Darley said. People have also acquired a skill set to gamble on their computers, he noted.
“Prior to the pandemic, the skill-based group was focused on brick-and-mortar casinos and through that transition and internet, many of the companies have pivoted to focus on the skill-based internet presentation and have shifted away from bricks-and-mortar genre,” he explained. “A number of skill-based companies have increased their presence online.”
That’s good for the skill-based industry, but also changes the dynamics and opportunities. All companies are going to try to achieve a balance, but no one will ignore the potential of iGaming, he said.
“My belief is when you have games online, and people have more of an opportunity to enjoy your product, that’s good,” shared Darley. “I think it will also shrink the number of casino games for the skill-influence world and get down to a few core groups of businesses that are going to concentrate more on bricks-and-mortar and not on the internet and iGaming.”
Next Gaming hasn’t put the same impetus on iGaming as of yet as other skill-based companies have, but Darley reported that they are taking steps. The company was concentrating on getting its certifications in Nevada, and now that has been achieved, Next Gaming can broaden its focus to include additional online offerings.
Next Gaming has taken its partnership with video game maker Taito to another level by introducing an esports game on a mobile app. The BUST-A-MOVE Real Money Tournament is the first mobile esports title from a joint collaboration with CelerX’s Network’s mobile esports platform. It was launched six months ago, and other games are coming for mobile but not for casino iGaming yet, Darley said.
“We are making our balance between strategically placing our games in casinos and the internet,” he continued.
He likes where Next Gaming is positioned as the industry comes out of COVID-19, given their recent placement in casinos, expansion into mobile and future opportunities out there.
“We’re starting to get back into the groove,” Darley said. “We have more games coming out with Missile Command, Tempest and BUST-A-MOVE Adventure, which we had to put on hiatus. Skill-based gaming is still in a good place and has a bright future.”
