Gaming developers around the world are thinking up new ways to engage players in the casino gambling market. One popular tactic has been the introduction of skill games into slot machine gameplay. Now, the state of New Jersey hopes to turn actual social games like Candy Crush into pokies in order to attract a new audience to local casinos and gambling venues.
According to a report in The Guardian, gambling regulators in New Jersey want to use skill games to conduct real-money gambling. The Division of Gaming Enforcement has issued a call for proposals from gaming developers to how it will be possible to offer skill-based titles as real-money casino games. There is no word yet on how these games will be designed, and we can only speculate at the moment.
One option would be to have players compete against each other in skill-based games, with the winner earning a cash prize. Alternatively, there is possibility that players could wager on skill-based games like Candy Crush – but it would be difficult for the house to have a significant edge.
“Casual games are played in such abundance across such a wide demographic,” says Eric Meyerhofer, CEO of Gamblit Gaming – a company that fuses social gaming with gambling. “We think there’s quite a large market for this.” Mr Meyerhofer states that there is a huge market for these types of games, and estimate that it could be worth up to $10 billion in the United States.
Social games like Candy Crush have already demonstrated their wide-reaching appeal, and the success of such titles would certainly carry over into the gambling market. While skill-based poker machines are not yet available in clubs and pubs across Australia, we can certainly see this trend making its way over here soon.
Local developers like Aristocrat and Ainsworth are great at picking up on international trends, so it would be great if skill-based gambling games were offered here.
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