Virtual games both reflect and influence casino slot machines

By John Grochowski

Slot machines have moved from sideshow in the casinos of a few decades ago to the main event today. By far the largest share of players and the largest share of casino revenues come from electronic gaming devices that include video poker, video keno, video blackjack and other games.

That’s a quantum leap from the days when table games dominated. A second quantum leap started in the mid- to late-1990s, when video slot machines started carving their niche. Today, video slots are the largest segment of electronic gaming devices, with reel-stepper slots next.

Are you ready for another quantum leap? More and more, players are getting in a little extra slot time between casino visits, on their computers and mobile devices. That includes both for-wager play in New Jersey and Delaware, which have legalized online gaming, and play-for-fun, or social gaming whether through social media apps or through casino website.

How close are the online, free-play games online to their casino counterparts? Very. Large game manufacturers are involved in developing the online games, just as they are in casinos. Among Facebook apps, Double Down Casino features games from International Game Technology, Jackpot Party Casino features games from WMS Gaming and Heart of Gaming features games from Aristocrat Technologies.

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Many of the games have the same themes and gameplay as those you find in casinos. Super Jackpot Party at Jackpot Party Casino is going to feel just right to someone who plays the game in casinos. Same deal with Wolf Run at Double Down Casino.

Free-play games do not have to meet the stringent regulatory requirements as games played for money in casinos, but you’re still basically getting the real thing.

That point was reinforced recently when I was contacted by Stephen Murphy, vice president of business development at High 5 Games, and he offered to expand on the social games situation.

High 5 is a developer of slot games with a strong reputation within the casino industry for quality and performance. Founded in 1995, it has developed games for major slot manufacturers including IGT, WMS, Bally and Konami, and is currently working on a large number of games for Bally and IGT. Player favorites including Da Vinci Diamonds, Golden Goddess, Shadow the Panther and Dangerous Beauties are High 5 Games.

It also has its own online social casino, High 5 Casino, available as a Facebook app. The math, Murphy explained, is the same on the online games as in brick-and-mortar casinos.

“For social casinos, this industry and this market isn’t all that old,” he said. “It’s only been a few years since the first was started. In the beginning the slots were not real at all.

“Even the companies that had ties to the land-based end, I think they would experiment a little bit. They’d try some new things out on social, and they didn’t really resemble the games in the casino. One thing High 5 was always different about is that we did offer the exact same math and the exact same games on social. We were the first ones to actually do that. Then Double Down Casino changed their math model so it resembled exactly how it is on their IGT games.”

At the High 5 Casino online, there’s a mix of games familiar from casino play, along with games developed first for online social gamers. I loaded the Facebook app after speaking with Murphy, and played Hoot Loot, which I knew as an IGT game in casinos, and an unfamiliar game, Miss Universe Crowning Moment. It’s a “super stacks” game—meaning there are long strings of the same symbol stacked on the reels, leaving the possibility of multiple-payline hits. I even filled the screen with the same symbol stacked on every reel for a nice win the first time I played.

Today, bringing online social slot players the same experience they get on casino slots is a point of emphasis. Partly, that’s because it’s an experience that’s proven to be attractive to players.

“There’s a lot of time and effort spent on crafting these games for the land-based casino market, and they tend to be pretty good games,” Murphy said. “If a game is successful at Caesars in Las Vegas and the Borgata in New Jersey, then it probably will be successful online, in social. So I think that’s why you’re starting to see a push to do the real math involved in these games, even though legally and from a regulatory standpoint, you don’t need to.”

That includes the math models on games you haven’t seen in casinos, games developed for online play.

“Companies including High 5 are creating games for a social audience, but we want to be able to take that same content and eventually transfer it over to a real money environment,” Murphy said. “We build the same games for both markets. One thing that social allows you to do, you get data very quickly on what’s working and what’s not.

“When we create a game for Bally, from the moment we start the game to the moment it hits a land-based casino, it can take 12 to 24 months, just because of the regulatory process and what not. But social, that timeline shrinks from 24 months to one or two months. So you can really flesh out ideas quickly, see what themes resonate with players, and optimize that product.”

That, he said, leads to better games for everyone, online or on land.

“In a lot of ways our social games have created stronger games for our land-based business,” he said, “because we find out immediately what’s working what’s not working, and we’re able to take those successful ideas, those successful brands, and then pitch them to our land-based partners.”

The quantum leap to online slot play comes with a feedback element, it seems. Online games mimic casino games, but in turn they influence casino games, too.

For a very long time, Europe has been the world leader in online casino gaming, online sports betting, and all other forms of iGaming. Now, while the competition across Europe is already tremendous, new regions are opening up to online gambling, creating new battlegrounds for major brands that have already established themselves in Europe.

The United States is perhaps the most prominent new jurisdiction to officially open up and begin to regulate a space for the industry. There are already 11 US states that have legalised a form of online gambling, with plenty more en route to regulation. With the industry being more accessible than ever, the standards have risen significantly, leading to a new checklist of player needs for their gaming platform.

It has to be licensed by trusted regulators

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The modern online casino gamer is very savvy when it comes to trusted websites. Even as recently as just over a decade ago, people would willingly pay into any gaming website that offered a title that they wanted to play, without also checking aspects like withdrawal caps and wagering requirements. Nowadays, players know the significance of a platform being under the watchful eye of a trusted regulator.

In this regard, there are two main bodies which hold authority over all others in the realms of online casino gaming: the UK Gambling Commission and Malta Gaming Authority. Players know that the UKGC, especially, is very strict in their regulation of operators, imposing stringent rules that operators must adhere to. Having seen the UKGC, often alongside the MGA, ban websites, any that hold the licence are known to be of a high standard.

Fast and secure transactions

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In a similar vein to the first point, the security of one’s money and payment details at online casinos – or anywhere online – is of paramount importance. Not only do gamers not want to directly input card details into a website anymore, but they also want the withdrawals of their cash to be as quick as possible – no more seven-day waits. This is why more and more online casinos accept PayPal.

PayPal operates as a safety barrier between the user’s bank account and the party receiving or sending funds, never sending any bank details across to the platform. As an eWallet, transactions are also very fast with PayPal. While the timeframe will differ from website to website, once the pending time has transpired, withdrawals are instant. This is an aspect of modern gaming that players expect to see on leading websites.

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Games from a range of providers

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Gone are the days of having to pick between a Playtech-only casino and a Microgaming-only casino. While both studios still offer a great range of top-class games, players want more choice from their websites. The scene became a lot bigger and better for players when platforms started to introduce several different providers, leading to remote slots tallying a gross gambling yield of over £2 billion in the UK alone last year.

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Many platforms that were once one-dimensional in their offerings have now diversified enough that they can offer hundreds, or even above one-thousand games. Gamers want to see smash-hit titles from the likes of Playtech, Microgaming, Play’n GO, and NetEnt alongside smaller developers like Yggdrasil Gaming, ELK Studios, and Skywind Group. This way, they know that the library will update regularly and that they can get in on the best new games as soon as they are released.

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Modern online casino gamers are savvy and know the range of what should be available. Top of the checklist for players these days are licence stamps, secure and speedy transaction methods, and a vast range of games.