The Nevada Gaming Commission Wednesday approved Synergy Blue’s arcade-style, skill-influenced platform, and games for statewide distribution.
The approval follows three months of trials launched in November at The Linq on the Las Vegas Strip, the Palms Casino Resort, and the Red Rock Casino Resort. The trials were completed prior to the shutdown of the casino industry due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The games were still in place.
Synergy Blue winners
“We’re very excited to gain approval in our home state of Nevada and we’re grateful to be able to contribute to local and industry recovery once these uncertain times have passed,” said Synergy Blue CEO Georg Washington of the Nevada-based manufacturer. “It’s a great milestone for us and we’re happy with getting through those trials. We’re optimistic about the future, and once everything opens back up, we’ll be ready and start showing people our games.”
Synergy Blue CEO Georg Washington
In March 2019, the Nevada Gaming Commission approved a license for Synergy Blue, which led to the trials that gave state officials a chance to monitor games for errors and provide a certification. Synergy Blue had three machines at Red Rock, four at The Linq and seven at the Palms.
“We got great feedback from players and incorporated a good majority into the games,” Washington said. “The Red Rock (locals casino) and Linq (Strip casino) are very different, and we got good data from both. It was a great success and in some ways, it was better than expected.”
Washington said the trials showed that the strongest segment was Generation X, which includes customers between 40 and 55 who grew up playing arcade-style games. The games also appealed to Baby Boomers and Millennials.
“Our goal has always been Generation X, who are some of the first arcade-game players,” Washington said. “They also have more disposable income.”
While the industry is shut down, Washington said he remains positive on the outlook for the industry and skill-based games. They continue to push forward on developing new games, bonusing mechanics, and hardware. Synergy Blue has 22 games in various stages of development.
Prior to COVID-19, Washington said they had many opportunities lined up and acknowledged the uncertainty in the industry today with the nation’s casinos shuttered. “We’re all in this together. And we’ll continue to work diligently to support our industry and to ensure we’re all ready to go once these times have passed.”
Synergy Blue has a deal with Dynamic Gaming Solutions to put its games in Oklahoma tribal casinos and was scheduled to do so in March before the shutdown hit. Earlier this year, it announced a distribution agreement with Canadian gaming supplier Bet Rite.
“Whether it’s Nevada, Oklahoma, Canada, or Asia, everybody is in the same situation,” Washington said. “The whole industry is on pause and once we get back to some normality, we will be in a much better position for announcements. Even how we make these announcements have changed because of COVID.”
Nevada is “the gold standard” for gaming and helps Synergy Blue move forward with licensing in other jurisdictions, Washington said. While the entire gaming industry has been impacted by COVID-19, he doesn’t see it as a setback for the emerging skill-based market.
“It’s a different world than it was two months ago, but I still believe skill-influenced games will play a part in the new world,” Washington said. “I’m optimistic about that. Yes, there’s going to be some lag time, because we will have to ramp up all the industries, but at the end of the day humans are social beings. Once it’s safe and appropriate for people to be back in casinos, I think they will be back. They’re getting stir crazy sitting at home and they’ll be ready for some fun to bet on.”
Synergy Blue is majority-owned by the Augustine Band of Cahuilla Indians, in addition to Washington. Its first iteration of skill-based games was introduced on the floor of the Augustine Casino in the Coachella Valley in California.
