Friday, May 30, 2003 | 10:51 a.m.
As soon as six months from now, casinos nationwide may begin testing technology that would customize slot floors by allowing properties to download games from a central database directly onto a slot machine, a leading slot tester told a group of casino technology experts Thursday.
Such systems -- which are not yet available in the United States -- would radically change the way slots are configured by letting casinos instantly swap out and test new games at any time on any machine, James Maida, president of Gaming Laboratories International Inc., said during the Gaming Technology Summit conference in Henderson.
Regulators now approve slot machines that are pre-programmed to offer certain games. They also sign off on each change made to a device, which can involve changing out a computer chip or updating a game's theme or design.
Las Vegas-style slot machines are governed by a computer chip in each device that controls the outcome of the game and is approved by regulators to pay out a certain amount over time.
Downloaded games could instead be controlled by a centralized computer and reconfigured on demand, a shift in control that will require regulators to re-think the approval process for individual games, Maida said.
Tests of downloadable games outside the United States have shown that players quickly take to the games they like the best, boosting revenue for casinos, said Thierry Brunet, a systems manager for Cyberview Technology Ltd., a London technology company.
At great cost, casinos typically replace entire slot machine units after a few years as their popularity with gamblers wanes, Brunet said.
Instead, casinos could offer a suite of pre-approved games that could be updated to appeal to certain customers at certain times of day or to coincide with special events, he said.
Systems that can download games also can centralize and organize gambling data so that regulators have instant, real-time access to key information for auditing purposes, he said.
Controlling an entire floor of machines from a centralized database rather than overseeing each machine as a single, secure unit raises a host of security and accountability issues that regulators have yet to tackle, a top Nevada regulator warned a separate group of conference attendees Thursday.
"Who has access to be able to download those games?" Gaming Control Board member Scott Scherer said.
As casino floors become more automated, individuals are gaining greater control over a larger number of machines, Scherer said.
As a result, the Control Board will be taking a harder look at the people overseeing new casino technology such as downloaded games, he said. "The stakes are much higher" if someone is looking out for thousands of machines versus only dozens, he added.
Technological advances have become a critical part of casino development and are closely watched by regulators, Scherer said.
The board, which recently overhauled its slot machine regulations to accommodate new "cashless" systems, is continually examining whether regulations are up to speed with meaningful technology that can benefit the industry, he said.
Regulators fell behind in approving cashless slots in part because they had not anticipated the popularity of the machines, he said. The slots fizzled with gamblers in initial tests, demonstrating that players still preferred betting with coins.
Cashless slot machines, which have since been embraced by players and adopted by major casino chains in recent years, can accept and dispense paper tickets instead of coins.
"Technology is our No. 1 challenge and our No. 1 priority going forward," Scherer said.
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