Taking a gamble on site

On premise mobile gambling is on the rise and interest is high, but not everyone is quite on board yet. Lewis Phillips examines what’s so appealing about the offering and how the industry is reacting to it

With online gambling legislation a slow burn in the US, you’d be forgiven for thinking that playing your favourite casino games on mobile or tablet was broadly a non-starter in the country. But despite the obvious regulatory restrictions in all but three states, casinos are finding ways to adapt and ensure they can appeal to the younger generation of gamblers.

As the name suggests, real-money on premise gambling products are only available to customers when they are within the walls of the casino property but gives customers the flexibility to play games when tables are either busy or when they are sat at the bar or restaurant. Players can even continue playing in their bedroom should they be staying at the on-site hotel.

The advantages on premise can bring to casinos are vast – not only does it increase turnover potential but it also educates players old and young about mobile gaming. And while for the vast number of states real-money gaming starts and ends on entering and leaving the casino, players can continue to play free-to-play games from the comfort of their own home, which is an increasingly important part of live casino’s CRM solutions.

“By featuring regulator-grade geolocation technology, we can strictly define the area in which players can place a bet or play a game on mobile,” Charles Cohen, IGT vice president, mobile, explains. “The technology can detect precisely when a player leaves the designated area and can automatically switch to a play-for-fun mode. The advanced mobile feature enables operators to test games and offer a wider catalogue of games.”

Supplier giant IGT has been one of the firms leading from the front with on premise gaming. Keen to capture the attention of younger land-based casino goers, IGT developed ‘IGT OnPremise,’ a mobile solution designed with millennials in mind. Last year, IGT signed a multi-year agreement with MGM Resorts International to provide IGT OnPremise at 10 MGM Resorts properties in Nevada.

Once launched, the solution has the ability to provide real-money, on premise mobile casino and slots, playable anywhere within an MGM property through smartphones or tablets. Both gaming and sports betting are combined into a single mobile app and linked to the players’ MGM Resorts membership.

“We quickly recognised the huge impact of the smartphone revolution, and the shift towards a younger demographic visiting land-based casinos,” Cohen says. “We have leveraged our expertise in mobile technology to create solutions that have a high appeal for mobile-focused millennials. Our goal is to enhance the player experience through smart mobile technology and, as a result, help our customers maintain and grow their businesses,” he adds.

Attractive solution

The OnPremise app is compatible with iOS and Android, is embedded within a casino’s mobile app and connects to a player’s club account. One of its more interesting features is the ability for players to play against the on-site dealers through their mobiles through the back-betting functionality for live baccarat tables. It enables players to virtually take a seat at any active table via their smartphone as long as they are located within a casino’s permitted area.

“Back-betting can improve gameplay by giving patrons immediate mobile access to play on multiple tables at once and allows players to place a bet against the table itself,” says Cohen. “From the operator’s perspective, it is a great way to increase hands per hour from the tables already operating on the floor.” It’s an option that could easily be applied in European casinos and could be a way of tapping into a generation of new gamblers who may feel intimidated by crowded weekend table games.

It’s also an intriguing option for operators who often face capacity issues at busy periods. San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino, located in California and which attracts more than two million guests a year, has been looking closely at on premise mobile gaming to solve a problem many other casino operators would love to have.

“We’ve got a very unique situation over here because of our location and where the casino resides just outside of LA. We have capacity challenges at the weekend,” says Matthew Cullen, CEO of San Manuel Digital, the interactive arm of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. “We have too many people and not enough machines for them to play. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a wonderful problem to have as a business, but it is a bit of a challenge. The ability to turn a mobile device into a gaming machine is something that’s quite attractive to us.”

Expanding the casino floor may seem the obvious choice, but it would prove tricky due to agreements with the state and the amount of machines allowed inside the property. “One of the things that makes mobile gaming in venue so attractive is rather than just throw a bunch of boxes on the floor, we could actually turn the mobile devices people already have into gaming devices/machines and allow them to choose what games they want to play,” says Cullen.

Easy does it

For the customer inside the casino, Cullen believes on premise gaming would appeal due to its “ease of use”, particularly as they could continue to play their favourite games whether they are at the bar or restaurant inside the casino. “At the end of the day, I think it’s about offering the games to our patrons wherever they are. In many cases it’s on their mobile device that they walk in with, or potentially a device that we would provide them with. Ultimately, we want to provide them with the ability to download an app and open an account on their own device.”

But Cullen adds one of the biggest hurdles for him right now is the lack of active on premise gaming at scale in the US. Despite it being legal in Nevada since the last decade, few operators have really pushed the boundaries with what can be offered to-date. “One of the challenges that exists here is that everyone talks about on premise mobile gaming, but there aren’t any platforms that are readily deployed at the moment at any sort of scale that we’ve seen,” he argues.

“I think we’ve got a perfect case for this type of product. Not having the ability to put ourselves in the shoes of a player and actually go to another casino and experience the player journey of opening an account and playing the games has been a challenge for us. We’d love to see this fully operational and functional somewhere.” And it will be interesting to see if MGM’s upcoming offering finally fits the bill.

Attractive solution

This increased engagement is at the heart of the on premise mobile gaming offering. It is increasingly becoming an attractive proposition for operators looking to enhance the link between their land-based property and online offering. And it goes beyond simply increasing the share of wallet or bringing new demographics into the live casino and looks also at solidifying that relationship between the brand and the player.

The app also enables casinos to hit customers with tailored marketing messages, whether that be about games or offers in the restaurant. “For the operator, it provides marketing opportunities through push messaging and mobile marketing campaigns,” says Cohen.

Operators can use a mobile on-premise app for unique promotions and messaging to their retail players, or even offer play-for-free versions with real-world rewards in land-based using the app as a tool for increased engagement while on property. But once the app is on a player’s device when they are back home it can switch to messaging real-money gaming offers to carry on that land-based gaming experience from the comfort of their own home.