Jackpots are great generators of excitement in casinos and, as technology has allowed systems to offer bigger and more personalised prizes, the excitement has increased.
THERE are many aspects of the casino gaming experience which have been transformed beyond recognition in recent years, but maybe none more so than jackpots.
At one time a jackpot could be won by one player playing a single machine. Then came the wide-area jackpots that linked several machines together to create excitement by raising the available prizes. Then came the mystery jackpots, triggered by the system rather than the individual machine, increasing the excitement and the prize pot.
More recently added sophistication has been made possible by player tracking technology enabling personalised jackpots, giving players further, smaller opportunities to win, thereby increasing time at machine.
Spielo International manages some of the world’s biggest wide-area progressive jackpot systems in casinos in 16 countries. Explaining how jackpot technology has changed the face of casino gaming, the company’s Marc Attal, managing director of casino systems, told InterGaming: “It goes without saying that the essence of gaming is the opportunity to win.
“In that respect, jackpots have made a huge contribution to making gaming attractive to more and more players throughout the years, simply by heightening the perception of the win opportunity. And we believe that jackpots remain one of the key attractive elements for players today.”
He added that the primary development for the jackpot concept was the evolution from a standalone jackpot within one machine, to the widely shared jackpot residing on the system. “The original jackpot idea became more and more sophisticated as variations on the theme brought it closer to being system-based.”
Read the full article in the May issue of InterGaming.
