Innovation expected to fuel global gaming growth

Casino operators and gaming suppliers are racing to innovate to take advantage of new global growth opportunities.

“Different pieces of the gaming puzzle are starting to fit together differently in different markets,” Michael Soll, president of industry advisory company The Innovation Group, told a crowd of about 80 Wednesday during the third day of Global Gaming Expo.

The global gaming industry is changing. Players are looking for more engaging games, the internet has created massive opportunities on the gaming floor, and countries in different regions are mulling legislation that could create international growth opportunities for casino operators.

The opportunity for global growth can elevate the Las Vegas brand, said Alan Feldman, executive vice president of global government and industry affairs at MGM Resorts International.

“Frankly, the T-Mobile Arena and a lot of other expansions, additions and renovations that we’ve done have been enabled by the fact that we are making profits in other parts of the world and bringing them back to Nevada and investing them here,” Feldman said. “

Feldman told the G2E audience that MGM Resorts is still relying on its current business model, which is to look for markets that can sustain growth in tourism and growth in entertainment.

“Our model is to build very large, very luxurious, very integrated resorts,” he said.

But he said MGM Resorts also is considering entering a new market on the interactive side first, based on the strength of the MGM brand, and then, once the brand awareness is well established, possibly build a land-based casino.

“We have looked at that as a potential strategical approach, but we just haven’t quite yet found the market where we can really look in the distance far enough to see if doing that now is the right move,” Feldman said.

Gaming suppliers also are focusing on reaching new audiences and developing games that can be delivered across all products.

“With IGT (International Game Technology), what you’ll see is that we are trying to innovate content within slots,” said Walter Bugno, CEO of IGT International. “We are trying to make slots experiential rather than just the pushing of the product…we are trying to create experience around play.”

IGT debuted a 4-D Sphinx slot machine that incorporates gesture recognition technology during G2E. Players can touch and feel the symbols and icons in the game, Bugno said.

“If anybody just looks at developing the next slot, then they are just going to develop a steam engine (which was quickly outpaced by electric motors and internal combustion engines).”

All agreed that the future for game innovation is games that work across every device.

“I want my customer to experience — anywhere in the chain — the same product,” Bugno said.

Soll, Bugno and Feldman said they are closing watching Japan and Brazil as the countries take up new legislation that would open possibilities for U.S. gaming to enter the regions.

All said they are cautiously optimistic about Brazil, which could possibly allow land and internet gaming to enter the market at the same time.

Contact Nicole Raz at nraz@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4512. Follow @JournalistNikki on Twitter.