ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — New Jersey gambling regulators have issued regulations allowing companies to place skill-based gambling devices on the floor of the state’s eight casinos.
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The state Division of Gaming Enforcement posted the rules by which manufacturers of skill-based games must operate.
They include prominently letting players know that the outcome of their bet can be influenced by their physical or mental skill as opposed to traditional gambling devices that are based on chance.
“This is another important step towards implementing skill-based gaming in the Atlantic City gaming market,” said Division Director David Rebuck. “Although the Division has had the authority to authorize these games for some time and announced in October 2014 an initiative for manufacturers to bring their skill-based games to New Jersey, the industry requested specific regulations to guide their efforts to create innovative skill-based products.”
The rules include requirements that the games pay out a certain percentage of bets collected, and they prohibit casinos from making the games harder or easier to win while a game is in progress, based on the perceived skill of the player.
They also include monitoring programs to guard against collusion or money laundering in multi-player peer-to-peer games.
New Jersey Slot Machine Laws
Manufacturers say skill-based slot machines are meant to appeal to millennials who tend to skip over traditional machines because they see them as old-fashioned.
Some are developing real-money gambling versions of arcade games like pinball, and video game console products like “Guitar Hero.” Others are developing casino versions of games like” ”Angry Birds” and “Words with Friends.”
Last February, the Borgata casino in Atlantic City hosted a basketball free throw shooting contest for cash.
Rebuck said that under a fast-track provision, manufacturers who bring their skill-based devices to New Jersey before any other jurisdiction can have them in operation on a casino floor within 14 days of approval.
The rules mirror those adopted last September in Nevada, so any device approved there would be allowed in New Jersey, as well.
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Gaming regulators in the Silver State have set the regulations that will oversee the implementation of a bill that authorized new gambling machines that combine traditional slot play and video games. It will be the first time slot machines have a skill component to them.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that the Nevada Gaming Commission was excited about the new rules at its meeting this month, as the state tries to cater to a younger generation of gamblers, which have been found to gamble less in favor of other casino offerings like nightclubs.
Slot machine manufacturers are hoping to have the new games on casino floors by the end of the year. State lawmakers approved a bill earlier this year for the new arcade-like games.
The legislation required the five-member Nevada Gaming Commission, with the assistance of the three-member Nevada Gaming Control Board, to “adopt regulations which encourage manufacturers to develop and deploy gaming devices, associated equipment and various gaming support systems that incorporate innovative, alternative and advanced technology.”
The Silver State has defined skill-based games, chance-based games and hybrid games.
Nevada’s gaming industry won a little more than $11 billion off of gamblers last year, but gaming revenue is still less than the more than $12.6 billion seen in 2006 and 2007. Slot revenue was roughly $6.7 billion in 2014, still down significantly from a record high of roughly $8.45 billion in 2007. The casino industry shed roughly 20,000 machines during the period.
Slot machines make up the bulk of Nevada gaming win.
Slot Machine Regulations By State
Nevada’s move toward skill-based slots follows New Jersey’s efforts to bring betting on popular games like Words with Friends to Atlantic City. This spring, Atlantic City ran what is considered the nation’s first physical skill-based gambling contest put on by a licensed casino operator.