With an array of new server-based products on the market, Simon Liddle discovers such technology is gaining ground.
In speaking to both operators and manufacturers, it is relatively easy to gain a sense of the potential most agree server-based gaming possesses.
It is also impossible to escape the fact of its rather sluggish rate of adoption to date. This, of course, oversimplifies the issue - SBG is a broad umbrella term that covers a diverse array of products and to suggest that all operators are slow to wake up to the benefits of these technologies ignores the jurisdictions in which they are increasingly becoming the norm. Server-based products have now been around for a number of years and in that time the term itself has come to represent the ‘future’ of slot gaming (or at least one version of the future of slot gaming).
Slot manufacturer Bally Technologies is one of a number of companies that offers a wide variety of SBG technologies for both games and systems. All of its games are compliant with the latest Gaming Standards Association’s G2S protocols.
"Server-based gaming is a very broad term but without question I believe that all of our customers recognise the benefits of networked and server-based solutions," Walt Eisele, the company’s vice president of technology, told InterGaming. "There are many operating efficiencies that casinos get from server-based solutions. At the same time, however, our customers are responsible for managing their business responsibly and therefore they are implementing server-based solutions based on their needs and capital available. The implementation of server-based technology will not happen all at once, but in phases."
"Server-based gaming will be an evolution, not a revolution. Casinos will implement server-based technology as they can upgrade their floor and based on their business needs. Eventually, every casino will have some version of server-based technology on their floor."
A bold prediction indeed but one that acknowledges there are obstacles to the widespread adoption of SBG.
Avron Goss, director of BetStone, explains: "With any new technology, you have early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards. Naturally there will be people who want to try the ‘latest and greatest’ and others who play the ‘wait and see’ game. But the server-based gaming argument is pretty convincing when you see the operational, revenue and customer satisfaction benefits."
BetStone boasts a game library of more than 100 titles, including video slots, video poker and table games. In the six years that it has been developing games, the Irish company has championed the merits of SBG games.
Goss continued: "It’s like the iPhone - the world didn’t ask for a smartphone with thousands of apps but when Apple offered it and people saw what they could do with the iPhone, the waiting list became huge. Our experience with server-based gaming is that operators love the benefits when they start to use it."
Among the suppliers convinced that SBG is now a viable option is IGT, which strongly believes its sbX experience management system gives operators the power to design and deliver customised player experiences. Leveraging a high-speed network and central server technology, sbX allows operators to quickly manage themes on their floor and interact with customers on the main game screen via a Service Window in real time. The sbX Floor Manager enables operators to change their game mix remotely from IGT’s library of titles.
"Operators are now in control," the company’s sales director for Europe, Ali Civile, told InterGaming. "They have a vast choice of games to use at their will and a powerful communication tool to reach their players, all at the simple touch of a button. sbX offers the flexibility to choose any game or multigame set they wish to deploy from the game library into one or several machines at the same time. The operators also now have the ability to communicate to customers in a way that has more impact to increase efficiency and profitability. It helps them differentiate one gaming experience from another.
"sbX lets operators run their casino floors how they want, with the games they want and the player interaction they want - all with the potential of lowered operational costs, improved efficiency and more satisfied players."
The ability to refresh game content remotely is a tremendous advantage to operators, enabling them to respond to player requirements and trends much quicker than in the past. Lee Gregory, managing director of bingo and casino at UK-based Inspired Gaming, said the benefits of digital technology now far outweigh those of analogue.
"Digital is excelling over traditional analogue and operators who have already tapped into the advantages of SBG are undoubtedly weathering the storm better than those who have not," he told InterGaming. "Digital is crucial to the future of the gaming industry and most operators now realise that this is the best way to increase machine income and offer the best player experience.
"The thought of physically having to remove machines and sending out an engineer to fix every fault seems rather old fashioned these days; most operators agree and are looking for a more cutting-edge solution."
Steve Walther, whose company Aruze Gaming offers a number of server-based games such as Jackpot Battle Royal and Title Match, said that such technology gives operators greater flexibility over the make-up of their gaming floors and provides players with new levels of interactivity.
"Server-based gaming, or in our case linked gaming technology, offers great flexibility to provide different gaming options, with little to no hassle for operators," he said. "Additionally, increasing the entertainment value to the players may result in longer time on device, translating to higher win per unit.
"Certain features of linked gaming create competition between players and provide a communal experience. The technology by its nature is interactive and players enjoy that experience as they want to be part of the fun and excitement. The technology adds a new social dimension of playing experience."
Inspired’s SBG platform is open, meaning any number of developers can create content on its platform and the company presently works with 30 or so.
"Our Open SBG platform allows customers to experience the widest range of content from a host of top third-party developers, so content is wide-ranging and often refreshed with the very latest chart-busters," Gregory continued. "The 21st century customer is more familiar with technology and more likely to browse available content before deciding to play a certain terminal. Increased content and functionality means that Open SBG is the way forward to provide customers with the best gaming experience."
Interaction between casino management and slots players is, when compared with table game players, fairly limited. Being able to communicate more directly with customers is invaluable and, in this current climate, customer loyalty is all the more integral to developing business.
Bally’s Command Center provides an easy-to-use interface for controlling its or any other GSA-compliant game manufacturer’s games. It’s iView Display Manager, meanwhile, provides player window technology that can be used to connect with customers.
"Our iView technology enables casinos to communicate with players right at the game and cross-promote casino and hotel amenities as well as events and promotions," the company’s Eisele explained. "And when combined with Bally’s Elite Bonusing Suite, iView enables casinos to implement floor-wide tournaments, promotions and second-way-to-win games without interrupting play on the base game.
"Our CoolSign digital media technology gives operators centralised control of all the digital signage throughout the operation, ensuring consistency in delivering messages and ways to elevate slot promotions, amenity promotions and marketing, outdoor advertising, in-room TV, employee communications, interactive way finding, directory and kiosks."
IGT’s sbX Media Manager also enables targetted messages and services to the system’s Service Window, ensuring casinos have an effective way to market to players and differentiate their property.
"Player get more choice too," Civile said, "more access to the games they want to play and highly personalised communication throughout the service window offers the possibility of convenience and attraction of new customers from applications that can be created using the open protocols.
"sbX Service Window provides a unique player interactive experience, right at the slot machine. When the player inserts his players’ club card, a special window slides the game screen over, providing a menu of information and services the player and operator can customise, all designed to improve the player experience. With sbX, players can now choose the games they play, experience better communication with a property and tap into an experience they’ve customised."
There are numerous benefits to upgrading a casino floor to SBG and, according to BetStone’s Goss, Europe and Latin America are leading the way. Eastern Europe and Italy are soon to follow suit.
"Although there is a little more infrastructure required, the total cost of ownership is vastly reduced," he said. "That is because of the time, manpower and opportunity-cost savings that are prevalent with server-based gaming. Factor in the marketing, operational and customer satisfaction benefits, and server-based gaming is clearly a superior platform. As other slot manufacturers discover the technology and begin to solve some of the tech issues, awareness and demand will increase together and SBG will become the platform of choice."
Inspired’s Gregory agrees that in order for SBG to succeed, there needs to be an industry-wide push for greater content.
"SBG is crucial to the future of the gaming industry. It’s proven that networked terminals outperform their analogue equivalents, leading to incomes doubling by making the switch to digital," he said. "But for SBG to reach its full potential there needs to be more adoption from leading content providers to allow for differentiated content."
Overcoming their financial restrictions may also be one of the biggest challenges facing operators seeking to bring SBG to their gaming floors, as replacing machines with brand new ones can be initially expensive. Bally’s Eisele suggests this may mean the adoption of SBG will remain slow until the economic situation improves.
"Right now, with the instability in the global economy, casino operators are being very cautious about how they spend their capital," he said. "Therefore many are not ready to invest in server-based technologies until the economy stabilises. It is true some of the older games do not support server-based technology, which means that the cycle to implement such solutions will be longer. Bally does offer a solution to allow the implementation of some server-based features on legacy games, which will allow operators to adopt these solutions at the rate they are most comfortable with."
As Goss pointed out, server-based products could be just what operators need to meet the challenges of the downturn.
"SBG has been able to respond to the challenges of the economic downturn. With less access to financing, operators have turned to solutions which continue to give them maximum flexibility while still delivering great content. Operators have also had to respond to players tightening their belts, with an inevitable decline in coin drop by implementing a seemingly contrary strategy of reducing costs while becoming more competitive."
However, cost is not the only prohibitive factor and, as Gregory states, in emerging markets the local infrastructure sometimes does not support such new technology.
"The main challenge in emerging markets is actually broadband connection; more so than cost," he said. "Obviously this situation is changing rapidly as the spread of reliable broadband becomes greater but we can solve this by using a local server-based solution. Operators who have already adopted this system have seen the true return on investments - the ability to refresh games without having to change software."
Ironically, emerging markets appear to be the most open to the idea of server-based gaming despite the temptation to invest in relatively inexpensive used machines that are so readily available.
"Generally we have found that it is not necessary to explain the benefits of server-based gaming in emerging markets," Goss remarked. "The operators do not have experience with legacy gaming and therefore measure each purchase on its merits and not on experience alone. In the cases where cost is the only consideration, then it is always a challenge to sell a premium solution - whether it is SBG or not. However, it is our advice that operators ensure that they look at the overall opportunity-cost versus maximising the return from that opportunity.
"A perfect example of this is Latin America - we have seen a flood of used machines entering the market since Russia and the Ukraine have all but closed gaming. A number of operators have invested in these machines but have often found that they are able to compete using cold content, or content where the themes and mathematics do not meet the requirements of the local demographic. We have seen a number of slot halls open with these machines and soon close down again."
SBG is now penetrating some of the world’s most established markets, with IGT’s sbX in operation at Aria at CityCenter, Las Vegas and Casino d’Evian in France, Grand Casino Helsinki in Finland and Casino di Venezia in Italy.
"Operators are excited about the potential sbX can bring to their operations," the company’s Civile said. "Operators are very receptive to the fact they can now have the game library at their disposal, also have the power to use it efficiently, understand their player preferences much better and quickly react to market changes or drive those changes themselves; plus target marketing messages right at the games.
"Several operators have considered sbX as a low initial investment, plus the possibility of having the co-existance of sbX and non-sbX games on the casino floor make it a smooth introduction. Moreover, the steady operational expenses that allow them to control costs and maximise the return. Any operator that can afford to keep their past level of investment in game refreshments could potentially benefit from sbX."
Aruze’s Steve Walther believes that over time, server-based gaming will penetrate such established markets, as well as gaining ground in emerging jurisdictions.
"Over time and, as operators replace older products on their floors, they will most likely place strong emphasis on the upgradability of the new products they purchase," he said. "Eventually we believe linked gaming will become standard on the casino floor in traditional markets due to the many advantages associated with the technology.
"As adoption increases and the benefits of the technology become more tangible, the technology is anticipated to spread to all gaming markets. Emerging markets may initially deploy devices that enable older products to have some features of linked server-based gaming before moving to fully implementing the concept."
Server-based gaming, then, is taking hold within the industry as more viable, commercial products are made available to operators. Although still a long way from becoming prevalent across every gaming floor, it does, after all the talk, finally appear to be delivering on its promise. As Eisele said, SBG in some form will no doubt become a widespread addition to most casinos.
