News

Nevada Will Allow Skill-Based Gambling, And Konami Approves

by Mike Futter on May 15, 2015 at 11:01 AM

Nevada has passed Senate Bill 9, which opens the door for new technology to be incorporated into slot machines. The bill allows skill-based gaming to be incorporated into the design of gambling devices.

As an example, all players would receive a base payback amount. Skill-based “bonus rounds” would increase the amount of winnings. This could incorporate elements of driving games, first person shooters, space-based shoot-em-ups, sports titles, and more.

Senate Bill 9 gives video game creators the ability to bring their brands into casinos in modified form. While this opens the door for publishers, it's unlikely any will have new plans in place right now to make a move toward populating Las Vegas casino floors.

Right now we know that Konami, a company in the midst of transition already has a significant gambling presence, approves. “[The Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers] is especially proud to be the initiator and one of the driving forces behind the milestone event," said Thomas Jingoli, AGEM President and Chief Compliance Officer of Konami Gaming. "We'd like to thank the Gaming Control Board and Chairman A.G. Burnett for supporting this initiative over the past year and we are excited that Nevada will be the first in the world to offer the full extent of this innovative new form of gaming."

We’ve reached out to a number of other publishers for comment on what this might mean for their businesses and brands. At the time of publication, EA has responded declining to comment on the matter at this time.

We’ll update should we receive additional responses.

Update (May 18 at 11:04 a.m. Eastern): Ubisoft has declined to comment.

[Source: Nevada Legislature via Association of Gaming Equipment Manufacturers]

Our Take
We already know that a number of Japanese companies, including Konami, have divisions devoted to gambling. This gives those companies (and traditional video game publishers) the mechanism by which to leverage core competencies in a new area.

Nevada passed this bill in hopes of wooing a younger audience onto the casino floor. Popular games from EA, Activision, Take-Two, Ubisoft, and others might be strong hooks that yield big money and diversify publisher businesses.